The Crew
by Caduceus
Summary: A dark story set in an AU about a few Xrelated characters including Blink, Northstar and Domino that explores the criminal life of New York. I'm still getting the hang of this so comments are appreciated. Chapter 13 up now
1. The Rooster's Crown

**1. The Rooster's Crown**

_Westchester County, woods near a large house_

_Night_

A man runs through the woods, followed only by the sound of his panting and his footsteps. Pant, thud-thud, pant thud-thud, pant thud-thud. He swerves around trees, wishing he didn't have such a big yard. People had to be told. He remembered earlier that night. When they'd arrived.

_Westchester County, outside the same house_

_Earlier that night_

Four figures skulked in the woods outside a large manor, wearing form fitting lightweight body armor. By complete chance, the manor was only a short distance from that owned by notorious mutant rights activist. It was the same style, the same type of owners. Old money. Family money. "Domino, the house is too lit up. You have to tell us what your plan is; otherwise we're all going to get caught," a man said, speaking in a hushed whisper. "These places all have security now, compensation for flyers as well. Its not going to be me carrying you all to the roof one at a time," he whispered angrily. His French accent got stronger when he was angry. Two figures stood slightly off to the side. The final figure, a woman, leant against a tree nonchalantly, barely listening to the tirade being directed her way. "Neena, we." The man started again but flinched back when the woman turned. "Shut up. Now. We got in. I hear any more objections and we come out with less people. Understand?" she snapped. "Blink, do it now.". One of the figures off to the side turned and walked to her. "Ok, Domino, whatever you say.". All four figures gathered together and suddenly, they vanished with only the tiniest sound. The night was silent except for the insects.

Senator Jason "The Rooster" Cockrum reclined in his study. A hard day's work well done. That silly little mutant rights bill that Xavier's pet senator had managed to get through was going to be shot down tomorrow. It was very close but Kelly had made sure that, with his support, it wouldn't pass. Cockrum was not an elderly man, about 40 and showing the signs of muscle going to fat. Thank God the kids and Martha were away. He didn't think he could take any more of the boys' damn fighting. He'd have to try and sort some of that out when they got back from Aspen. Oh well, enough for tonight. He'd go to bed, secure in the knowledge that he'd done his duty to his constituents. A pity Martha wasn't home. The latest nip and tuck she'd had done had done wonders for her. Absolute wonders. Jason Cockrum walked out of his office passing down the halls of his family's house, heading for bed.

The four figures from outside blinked into a room. Immediately, all four turned, looking for threats. Seeing none, the others turned to Domino. She looked around the boy's bedroom. "Good. Blink, check he's asleep." The pink girl nodded and slipped into the hallway outside, not making a sound. Blink walked down the hall. She sometimes wondered why she worked with Domino. Domino was not a nice person. Domino did bad things and Blink realised that she would have been shocked at what the four of them were trying to do here tonight, had it been the Blink of a year ago. Now, it was normal. Blink sighed to herself. Sometimes things changed. Sometimes people changed a lot. Checking her memory of where the senator's bedroom was located, she stopped for a moment, listening. Hearing no noise, she slid a knife under the door seeing what she could in the reflection. Good. No movement. No noise. She opened the door slightly, enough to see the senator sleeping soundly in bed. Good. Domino would be happy. As Blink returned to the Sentaor's son's bedroom, she wondered when pleasing Domino had become one of the most important things in her life. Then she remembered what'd happened with Leech and crept back to the kid's bedroom. Very quietly. She remembered exactly what had happened and she knew exactly when pleasing Domino had become so important.

Blink slipped back into the bedroom. "He's asleep," she reported quietly.

"Excellent. Let's go." The other three figures moved towards the door, joining Blink in the corridor. Walking quietly in the opposite direction to the senator's bedroom, they crept down the stairs. Splitting into two groups, Domino going in one direction, the others in another, they headed off.

_Westchester, _

_That Night_

The man continued to run through the woods. Pant thud-thud, pant thud-thud, pant thud-thud, pant thud-thud. He was slowing now. He wasn't as fit as he used to be. He heard a snarl from somewhere behind him. They were gaining. He didn't have much time. Pant thud-thud, pant thud-thud, he ran again. They were gaining but someone had to be told.

_Westchester County, _

_Earlier that night……_

Domino walked down the hall. The office should be…here. Opening the door, Domino flicked on the light, bathing the room in a soft glow from two lamps on the desk. The office of the Senator Jason Cockrum, representative of the people. Domino snorted. Representative of the humans. Moron. This man deserved this. She rarely had problems accepting a mission and this one certainly didn't qualify. It was practically routine. Her employer was a small surprise but after a moment's thought, the motivation became clear. If mutants were registered, people would start to notice when they disappeared. There might also be other side affects. Domino stopped that train of thought instantly. If you were a mercenary, especially of the kind she and the Crew were, then speculation was not a healthy thing. Those that couldn't control their interest tended to catch terminal cases of dead. Reaching under her armour, Domino pulled out the papers. She put them on Senator Jason Cockrum, representative of the people's desk where they might have been left by someone exhausted after a night's hard work. Then, she began to rifle through the papers. There better not be anything that contradicted the very carefully worded papers. Besides, there was always a market for the kind of information you could pick up from a senator, just as long as you knew the right buyer. Reading on, Domino sighed in disgust. These people. The things they were funding. It revolted her. The others better be doing what they were here for. Otherwise she would not be happy.

The other three people, Clarice Ferguson, Jean-Paul Beaubier and Maria Callasantos, walked down the corridor away from  
Domino. They reached the great room and, quickly opening the sack Maria had carried all night, brought out spray cans, crowbars and a machete. Jean Paul took the machete and ran around the room, smashing furniture and destroying everything he could. Maria and Blink took the crowbars and began to destroy furniture too. Without speaking, they finished, each girl doing a corner while Jean-Paul did the rest. Returning to the sack, they grabbed the spray paint and began spraying the words "RACE TRAITOR" all over the walls and floor. They were finishing up when Maria cocked her head, listening to something. "Maria?" Blink turned to her, asking what she'd heard but then Blink caught it too. Thud-thud. Someone running down the hallway. That was not Domino. Jean-Paul, on the other side of the enormous room, had not heard. Snapping into the communicator "Jean-Paul hide, quick", Blink grabbed Maria and vanished as the door opened.

Jason Cockrum looked at the ruins of his great room, the pride of his house. His family portraits, his beautiful furniture, all destroyed. Jason dropped the gun he'd been holding to the ground. Who could do this? He'd heard a noise from his bedroom, one that had woken him up. Grabbing the gun he kept beside his bed, he walked downstairs. The boy who worked here, the only other one in the house tonight better not have broken anything. Useless brat. Walking downstairs, he wondered how a burglar had got in. He'd have to find out. There were things in this house that couldn't get out. Opening the great room door however, he could only stare in horror at the ruin that awaited him. He barely noticed the faintest echo of a sound and just stared at the ruin of his family's history. The office! He dropped to his knees, scrabbling for the gun he had brought down and running towards the office. They would be there. If they were anywhere, they would be there.

Domino heard the quick thumps of the Senator's footsteps approaching. No-one on her team would make that noise. Flipping herself backwards, she threw herself under the heavy wood desk. She wouldn't be seen even if she couldn't see what was going on. The door burst open.

Jason Cockrum stared around his office. Nothing looked moved. Wait! He didn't leave papers on his desk. No way. He grabbed the paper, dropping the gun, and started to read. "What?" he yelled out loud, so shocked. They were trying to make him stop the bill by leaving papers on his desk? How was that going to stop him? Sometimes he hated politics. He heard a noise and spun around. "What the hell are you doing here?"

_Westchester, _

_That Night_

The man knew he wouldn't get away. They were too close. Not they. She. She was right behind him and if she caught up to him then…. The man ran and behind him, something…someone snarled in the darkness.

_Westchester,_

_Earlier that night_

Jono had heard the noise, the Senator running down the stairs, so he climbed out of his cot and opened the door to the tiny cubby that was his room. The Senator and his family thought they were so kind, taking in the poor mutant as a servant. Letting him live in our big fancy house and feeding him and everything. Never mentioning to the press about the stale bread he lived off. Certainly never telling how he was forced to call the Senator "The Senator" every time he spoke to him and had been beaten until he learnt to remember. How one time he got a fever and couldn't move and the Senator's kids had come in and kicked him and kicked him and he'd managed to yell at them and the senator's wife had come and beaten him with a belt. She was a strong woman so that was a dangerous experience. He sometimes wondered why he didn't just run away or even blast them all. He suspected he could kill them before they knew what was happening. But then, he'd had it beaten into him that mutants were worthless and Senators were Good People so it wasn't likely to change now. He hated the Senator and his family, he hated the house. He'd run away from worse but here was better than the streets. Even here, with the beatings and abuse, was better than the streets.

Running through the house in the night was not something you usually heard here though (well, not if the brats were away) so Jono got up to see what it was. He saw the Senator running towards the office, not even noticing Jono. Jono considered going back to bed but this looked interesting enough that he wanted to know. Wandering down the hall, Jono saw the Senator run into his office and suddenly a yell "What?" rang out through the house. Jogging quietly down to the office, Jono saw the Senator was just reading some paper. Suddenly, the Senator whirled to face Jono. Crap. He was in some serious trouble now.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the Senator demanded. "You know you're not allowed out at night.". This little freak was useless as a servant. He had to go. This was a good reason too. Who else would have tried to stop him with an essay on his desk? With his name on it? "Well? Answer me, you useless brat!" Jono was just looking at him. Weird eyes the kid had. It was the jacket, Cockrum decided. The jacket made him look sinister. How did it manage that? Never mind. He was just a kid who'd tested X-gene positive but couldn't protect himself on the streets. Tough luck. "Dammit boy, tell me. Was it you who put this here?" The kid was still just looking at him. What the hell was wrong with him?

Jono just looked at the Senator in amazement. He thought Jono had put those papers there? Jono knew well enough not to go in the Senator's office. He knew well enough not to go out at night, usually. This had been a mistake. "I..I…I don't go in here, Senator," he mumbled. Maybe if he got away, he wouldn't get punished. "I..I haven't seen anyone, Senator. Mrs. Cockrum and the boys do not go into your office. I don't know who could have put it there." Hopefully that would satisfy him. "I'll just go back to my room, Senator," he said. Hopefully, that would be enough.

Cockrum looked at the kid. How dumb did the brat think he was? He'd obviously done it. "Who paid you to put this here? Who? Answer me, boy!" he demanded. Then, he realised in his shock, he'd forgotten the great room. "You filthy little brat! You little ! How dare you destroy my property! How dare you invade where you aren't supposed to be! We thought you knew your place but that's obviously not the case." Reaching back he grabbed the gun on the desk and brought it up, pointing it at the boy's head. He pulled off the safety.

Under the desk, Domino heard the click of a safety being pulled back. This had gone far enough. This would be ruined if Cockrum covered the room in mutie blood. Looks like she had to save the kid. Great. Another person who would remember Domino existed. Problem for later. So Domino flipped herself up onto the desk and kicked Cockrum in the back of the head as he was preparing to fire. Looking over at the filthy bruised kid, she realised that she had no idea where here team was. Pulling her communicator into place, she snapped into it, "Get to the office. Now."

Five minutes later, the team stood in front of Domino silently. You did not interfere with Domino when she a plan went haywire. You just got out of the way and hoped you survived the crossfire. Domino was pacing back and forth along the office, thinking about what to do. Salvage the plan. This shouldn't have happened. Domino suddenly stopped and whipped around. "What about the great room? Did you finish before you were…..interrupted?" she demanded. Jean-Paul nodded but the girls murmered faint "yeses" to Domino. "Show me," she demanded. Striding down the hall, she turned her head to command, "Bring the kid too. Leave the target," They followed to the great room, Domino striding furiously. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Jono crumpled to the ground, clutching his side. They all whipped around to see the Senator standing at the office doorway, smoking gun still in hand. In a fraction of a second, Jean-Paul had the gun on the ground and the Senator pinned while Blink and Maria rushed to Jono. He was clutching his side. Domino, seeing the Senator dealt with, ignored all this and continued on to the great room.

Maria heard the gunshot but felt no pain, so spun around to look for the source. Seeing the Senator standing with the gun, about to fire again, she threw herself to the side, seeing Blink do the same out of the corner of her eye. The stupid boy was still standing there but it was ok because Jean-Paul already had the Senator down. She rolled and jumped up again and saw the Jono boy crumple to the ground. She ran over and Blink hurried over to find him lying on his stomach, convulsing. Blink just looked at him and said, "His spine has been smashed. He's not getting up." Maria looked at him and he looked so small.

_Jacob had been so mean. Lucia had been so mean. They were all mean. Only Mamma was nice but Mamma had gone. Jacob told her Mamma had gone to a big place in the sky. But she had her ponies. Her nice ponies. "Neighhhhhh" "Want some grass, pony?" "Your ponies are stupid" There was mean Jacob. _"_Why do you still play with ponies? You're 12 now. You should have stopped years ago. You need to grow up and be able to protect yourself. Lucia can but you're still playing with ponies. Stupid little girl. Give it to me. Give it to me. Don't hiss at me_,_ you little freak girl_, _ I'm the normal one in the family and without Mamma I have to look after you little mutants. So give me the damn pony!" "No!" Maria had screamed and screamed. He wouldn't take her ponies. He'd pulled but she'd held on and refused to let go. Then, he'd hit her. How she hated to be hit. Everything went red. When she had come to, lying in a pool of red warm water, Jacob hadn't been moving. Lucia had come in and started screaming and Maria hadn't known what was wrong. The neighbours had come in and there had been screaming and yelling and fighting and then there had been Domino._

He looked so small on the ground. Blood trickling out, a veritable flow. So small. Jacob had been big but Jacob looked small on the ground. In a furious rage, one she remembered well, one Maria hated, everything went red and Feral jumped up off the ground and charged towards the Senator. People shouldn't shoot other people. Jacob shouldn't have hit her. She missed Mamma. Everything went bright red.

Blink saw Maria freeze up and asked "Maria? What is it?" but there was no time. The boy was bleeding out and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She didn't know why she was bothering. He had been shot, directly in the spine. He was probably already dead. She leant down to his head, and heard the faintest noise coming from his mouth. "Hot…." he whispered. Hot? Hot lead maybe. This kid wasn't getting up. "Maria he…" she started but was just in time to see her teammate and best friend jump up and charge at the Senator. Knowing what Feral was like when she went berserk, she screamed out to Jean-Paul and pulled a crystal shard out of thin air, throwing it at Feral. She hit Feral and teleporting her back to Blink. Jean-Paul looked up and knocked Cockrum's head on the ground before whizzing over to help hold Feral down. "Domino," he yelled into the communicator. "She's Feral again. Get back here now.".

Cockrum was woozy. So woozy. After he'd shot them, he thought he'd hit the kid, the treacherous little brat, then suddenly one of them had been right in front of him and had done…something to his arm that numbed it and had him pinned to the ground unable to move for some time. He'd looked over and seen the two girls, grabbing the boy on the ground. He'd hit the boy. Good. Those girls were trying to help but he doubted they'd be able to. He was a fairly good shot. One of the girls had sat back, the one who looked like some kind of animal. Filthy creature. The pink one was still trying and might be getting somewhere but the other one had frozen. Suddenly, the animal jumped up and started tearing down the hallway, foaming at the mouth and screaming. The other girl screamed and Cockrum redoubled his struggling. The filthy mutant guy would just let her kill him and suddenly, she just…..disappeared. No! Wait! There she was, back with the pink girl. The guy slammed his head on the ground and the world spun but didn't fade. He looked over to see the two holding the animal girl on the ground. The pale freaky one who'd kicked him was running back down the long hall from the great room. Why was it so hot? He should be getting away but he was still woozy and his arms and legs were numb from what the guy had done to him. He managed to sit against a wall and looked over when the heat got unbearable, agony pierced his head and a massive explosion rocked the hall.

God, those idiots couldn't handle anything. Domino muttered and swore as she ran back to the others and saw why. Feral had come back and the kid was still writhing on the ground. Cockrum was up against a wall but he wasn't going anywhere for a while. She turned to Feral. They just had to wait for her to calm down there. The kid, well, he looked like a spinal hit to Domino and that wasn't something you walked away from. It wasn't something you rolled away in a wheelchair from. She walked over and noticed the heat immediately. Something was up. Kid's powers must be manifesting. She opened her mouth to speak and a psychic scream tore through her shields and an explosion threw her against a wall.

Jono lay on the ground, writhing in agony. The Senator had shot him. The Senator had shot him. The Senator was supposed to be a Good Person but Good People didn't shoot people, especially kids. He hurt. Oh God, Oh Jesus oh crap how he hurt. There were people next to him, the girls he'd seen so briefly but then one went away and then ran away and the other did something and she was back but they went of to the side and Jono was writhing. It was hot. So hot. Why was it so hot? Agh. God. Christ, this hurt. It hurt so bad. Jono felt like his chest was about to burst and it was so HOT. Ahhhh. He screamed out as he felt the bottom of his face, the entire front of his chest dissolve. He screamed as the pain peaked at a new height of agony and the explosion ripped through his body and flung him into the wall, fire spewing out of his chest. At least it wasn't to hot anymore was his last thought as he passed into welcome blackness.

_Westchester, _

_That Night_

He knew it was over. He'd known for some time. He had to try but it couldn't work. Suddenly, he saw the boundary fence between the tree line. He was almost there! He speeded up, running as fast as he'd ever run in his life when a searing line of heat ripped across of his back. So close. So close but she'd caught him. He turned and threw a wild punch, felt it connect to a gut but it had no real force behind it. She grunted, momentarily winded and then reached down and dug her claws into his throat. The last thing Jason "The Rooster" Cockrum, Senator of the United States of America ever saw was the woman who killed him leaning over to lap up the blood running from his throat.

_Westchester, _

_Shortly before,_

Domino rolled over. She lay in an oval clear of debris, her wonderful power at work again. She jumped up, ignoring the bruises that were her only injuries. Gun out, she hobbled over to the kid who'd nearly killed her. She did _not_ like being blown up. She staggered over and pointed the gun at his head but a voice in her head said Don't. She twitched. She hated telepaths. She hated hated hated hated hated hated hated telepaths. Please. Don't. Please please. I'll do whatever you want. Domino lowered her gun. "We may have something to work with. But that's for later. Stop talking to me and unless I give you permission, you never talk in my head again. Otherwise, we see if your head can stop bullets as well as your back." she snapped viciously.

Blink was struggling to hold down Feral with Jean-Paul. Why did the girl have to be so damn strong when she went berserk? Suddenly, a huge blast of heat ripped towards them followed by an explosion. Jean-Paul was thrown off to the side and she saw Maria sent in another direction. She jumped up as soon as she could move and ran directly at the already up Maria who was charging towards where Cockrum was. She tackled her, calling for Jean-Paul who didn't appear. If only she weren't so damn stong!

Jean-Paul heard Blink call but he couldn't get up. _Someone has stabbed me_. He managed to lift his head and saw a large piece of woodwork had pierced his chest. Not fatal. He breathed in deeply. _No stabbing so my lungs are ok. Must be ribs. No more breathing deeply, JP._ He yanked the woodwork out, ignoring Blink calling for his help and lay on the ground, bloody shard in hand. _He hoped he didn't die. He really hoped._

Cockrum managed to stand when he recovered from the explosion. He hadn't been hit with any debris but his hall was ruined. All the glass was gone from the windows. Those filthy muties had all been thrown against the wall but the guy and girl were already stopping the animal. He realised he had to get away. He threw himself out of the big windows, rolling down the small hill outside as his legs failed him. He jumped up and ran, heading for the woods. Jason "The Rooster" Cockrum ran from the home of his family into the woods from which he would never return.

Feral was struggling. The pink girl, (Blink, a part of her mind reminded her) was holding her down and something was stopping Feral from just cutting through her to get past. But her prey was getting away. She stopped struggling and threw Blink into the wall and then jumped out the window. The hunt was on. Feral loved to hunt. Like a cat after a rooster, Feral ran out of the ruined mansion and into the woods.

Blink staggered over to Domino and the kid. "The Senator is out there. Feral is chasing. He's not coming back. I can't get him because of the trees and JP's got at least 2 broken ribs so he's not going anywhere. We'll have to wait till I can find her and I doubt Cockrum can last that long. What do we do? Domino?" Blink questioned. Domino turned to her and sighed. "Go out and find her as soon as you can. She can't start to tear him to pieces. Get her before that happens and send her back. Try not to let her find out what she's done, you remember last time. I'll clean up the Senator and you, my lucky little lad, get to look after Northstar." She turned to the kid who'd passed out. _Great. I get to look after the Canadian moron as well._ Sighing, she turned to Blink. "Well! Go!" Blink nodded tiredly and blinked out. This hadn't worked out so badly, everything considered.

_Epilogue,_

_Washington DC_

_The Next morning_

A man sits with his coffee reading the paper. It has published the only papers salvaged from the late Senator Jason "The Rooster" Cockrum's home, unfortunately damaged by fire. They were called "The Rooster Crown" and tell of Senator Cockrum's realization regarding the mutant rights bill. _Excellent,_ the man thought_. Domino and her team did well. She will be worth using again another time. Have I found my Marauders? Maybe _The man smiles and his eyes flash red.

_Paris, _

_The next morning, local time_

Another man sits in a palatial private residence, reading the same paper. _Excellent. Domino's team was coming along nicely._ Suddenly, he collapses onto his table, the back of his head blown off by the sniper on the roof next door. The sniper packs up her rifle calmly and makes her escape before the man's body is found. She returns to a hotel and strikes a name off the list. Investigators might notice the minor irregularities in what was left of the man's brain matter. Tessa Niles, sitting calmly in her hotel room in Paris, wonders if they will even notice the two drops of blood that were trickling down his cheeks.


	2. Sat on a Wall Humpty Dumpty part 1

**2. Sat On a Wall, Humpty Dumpty Part 1**

_Zspunk Nightclub, _

_The Edge of Hells Kitchen_

_Mid-morning_

Jono hit the mats with a _thwack_. "No No No No NO!" screamed his instructor Brock Rumlow. "You stop-thrust after blocking and lead to a sweep kick; if you thrust then block, you'll get smacked mid thrust. F¤(in' retard," he muttered. Sighing, Chamber got up off the mats. This was the second week of his time in the rooms underneath the Zspunk nightclub. He doubted many people knew this was here. He'd never known this was here. It certainly wasn't in the minds of the majority of people in the club above. Zspunk was one of the happening places on the New York scene and people were coming from far and wide to the edges of Hell's Kitchen to this classy little club that could satisfy any desire. Coke, MGH, Kick for the mutant customers, it was all available in Zspunk, as was a huge variety of women and men both of their own choice and for hire. All you had to do was get in. Not as easy as it sounded. Once you were in, if you knew the right person, a huge amount of money or a service would get you back here and into this, the training academy of Taskmaster. Here was where those with powerful backers worked with specially trained combat instructors to reach some potential. Jono was not finding this particularly enjoyable.

_After the agony of his manifestation at Senator Cockrum's assassination, Jono was barely capable of not sending out a constant stream of some kind of explosive energy. When he found out that he could keep the fire contained to where his chest used to be, he wrapped himself in bandages, which promptly combusted. He wrapped himself more carefully and these bandages have survived for a while but when he looses control they go. He has taken to carrying spares. Lots of spares. Domino had taken him to see this guy. It was really weird. The guy was just looking at Jono. Then, Jono suddenly felt dirty, filthy, like the guy was touching him all over. It was sick. He'd lost control of the fire a bit and burnt through the bandages, frightening the creepy guy back. He'd stormed out angrily, wrapping himself again in the bandages. Domino had followed a few minutes later. He hadn't gone back inside. He'd already learned what happened when people overstepped themselves with Domino. "It_'_ s psionic energy," she said suddenly. Huh? he asked, not paying a lot of attention. "It_'_s psionic energy. In your chest. It_'_s like distilled psi power." Hmmmmm he muttered. Psionic energy. Well, at least he knew that much. That didn't tell him a lot though. He already knew he had some kind of psychic powers. He was talking without half his face_,_ wasn't he? _

_Over the next few days, Chamber had experimented with his powers. The group had holed up in a warehouse after Cockrum's death while Northstar healed and Feral had gone catatonic._ _Blink had gone out and brought Feral and Cockrum's body back shortly after Jono had regained consciousness and she had barely spoken since. Once they got to the warehouse, Feral just lay down and refused to move. She went completely catatonic. Jono expected Domino to freak but she just looked sadly at Feral and refused to be near her. Blink and Northstar had all the work of_ _looking after her while Jono played with his powers and Domino was in and out calling ín favours. Northstar healed really quickly for someone with 2 broken ribs. But then he did everything quickly. Jono watched Domino with interest. She was the one who was in charge. The dangerous one. She seemed to have quite a few contacts in the local area. There were also a few she didn't like. She came home bloodied sometimes but more often she came back just plain bloody. Not a nice person at all was Domino. One day she took Blink with her and brought back this asian guy. No word as to where he was from and no word as to what he could do or why he was there. Called himself Red Lotus. Spoke English with an Australian accent of all things. Knew how to fight. One day Blink had been doing what Jono now knew was kata, moving meditation_,_ so he walked over and joined in. They had begun to spar and Blink was down and out in about 5 minutes. This guy was fast. Jono had avoided him as often as possible. Then, one night, Domino told them that Red Lotus and Chamber were to come with her. Jono had no freakin_' _idea who "Chamber" was but everyone just assumed it was him so he went. You didn't disobey Domino. They went to a nightclub of all places. Jono was surprised. He hadn't picked Domino as the type. They marched right past the bouncer, despite the fact that Jono was clearly underage_'_ and straight to this guy inside. "This is them," Domino said to the stranger. "Payment is as we agreed. As soon as they're done here, we'll deliver_._". Red Lotus didn't look up. Jono looked at Domino. Was she selling him? Could she sell a person? Of course she could, there wasn't a lot Domino couldn't do given the right incentive. But she'd talked about being finished here. What was that? "Good_,_" the man grated out. His voice sounded like gravel. "Take them out back. I think they'll work best with Rumlow." He waved to two goons who moved forward and escorted the guys out the back. Domino looked at the man. "You do know what will happen, once you've trained them, don't you, Taskmaster?" she questioned. "We'll deliver on our payment. We'll get rid of the Kingpin for you. I hope you're prepared for what'll come after," she said and she turned sharply on her heel and walked out. Taskmaster turned to one of his men and said, "I want Domino left alone. She will do what she said as long as we do." They all nodded. _

That last few weeks hadn't been particularly enjoyable for Jono. He'd had his face blown off, caused a girl to go catatonic, was hiding out as an accomplice to murder and conspiracy to commit murder and to top it all off, he was being beaten in the name of instruction again. He let his mind wander as Rumlow turned his attention to Red Lotus. The other student rarely needed instruction more than once. His body memory was superb. His physical co-ordination was perfect, part of his mutation. His speed was superhuman. He floored Rumlow on the first day. He often had special instructors including Taskmaster himself. Today, Chamber ignored what was happening and began to use his new telepathy on Rumlow, just a bit. In the front of his mind, he found the standard garbage and then it was….there! Rumlow's knowledge store. He began consuming the information in huge chunks, hoping Rumlow wasn't aware of what he was doing. When he finished, he turned to Lotus but found severe shields which he couldn't get past. Maybe he could but not without making Lotus aware of the intrusion. Suddenly, Rumlow turned and demanded Chamber start sparring. He always called him Chamber. Gulping, Jono walked out onto the practice circle with Rumlow, Red Lotus watching. In the circle, you fought for real, only pulling back killing blows. Jono's mind calmed. He was in trouble. They squared and bowed. Suddenly, Rumlow launched a blinding volley of kicks that would have taken Jono out 20 minutes ago. Jono parried them easily, realising that he'd managed to use Rumlow's memories. Cool. Psy power had something going for it. Awesome, actually. He was holding his own against Rumlow. He was winning against Rumlow. It was surprising. It was fun. Suddenly, he felt a kick spear into the side of his leg and a blow to his head sent him flying. He saw Red Lotus standing over Rumlow. "We already established you could do that you, moron!" screamed Rumlow. He jumped up and stormed off to the side, grabbing a towel. "Go home for today. From what I've seen, we're pretty much done now that your telepath friend is in condition and noticed he's got powers," Rumlow stated calmly for once. "Tell Domino that payment is due soon. Taskmaster doesn't do this for free.". They left the club silently, walking out the back way to avoid the cleaners in the club. They headed back to the warehouse to rest.

"You're done?" Domino demanded of the immediately on their return. "Good. Northstar, Red Lotus, come with me. The rest of you stay here. Chamber, you watch Feral. It's your fault she's catatonic, you look after her." The three left the building and headed onto the street. Jono wandered over to Blink. "Where are you keeping her?" he asked, knowing she was the one doing most of the looking after. "Over there, behind those crates," yawned Blink. "I'm going to get some sleep." "Yeah sure." Jono replied. He wandered over to the crates she'd mentioned and found Feral curled in a ball sleeping on some sacks. She'd probably hadn't moved for three days. He sat down beside her, tired and a little sore from Red Lotus and Rumlow, and relaxed a bit. His bandages were instantly burned to ash. He lay back, controlling the fire. He let his mind relax and fell asleep.

Who's there, he asked. Weird. His voice made no sound. Anyway, he could hear someone sobbing. He floated towards them — _floated?_ Yep. He was floating. Again, weird. Oh well. It was Feral. She was sobbing out words, over and over again. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. A bad man killed Mamma. Thou shalt not kill. He reached out to her. Hey, he said in his voice without sound. She heard him and looked up, not stopping her chanting. Suddenly, her voice broke and she jumped up staring at him. You're dead she said, voice making no sound either. Ummmm…….No? he replied hesitantly. I'm sort of not. As you can see. Yes I can, she replied quietly. Is…Suddenly, there was a noise. A slamming and a yelling. He grabbed her and felt something hit his body, something heavy. He convulsed and Feral slammed into him, sliding into him. With a yell, Jono woke up.

He found a body on top of him. Not Feral, still curled in the corner but a stranger. Some guy he'd never seen before. The man grabbed his arms and pushed them back, trying to turn them behind his back and snap them. Jono resisted but could only stop the turning. He tried to let go of his fire but he was so tired and it was so low from his little talk with Feral that it didn't even singe the man. He kept struggling. In the main area of the warehouse, he saw Domino bolt in and scramble up to the top of a stack of shipping crates. Five more men walked in after her and 5 shots later there were no more men. Northstar sped in a moment later and Red Lotus ran in not long after. They saw the 5 on the ground and looked at Domino, obviously understanding what had happened. "Where's Montana?" Northstar asked Domino. "I don't know," she replied. He got here before me. Jono tried to yell. Stupid useless psychic voice. Doesn't work when you're tired. Red Lotus looked around as though he heard a noise but seeing nothing, went back to studying the men on the ground. The man, Montana, suddenly gave Jono's arms a wrench and pulled them behind his back. He walked into the main area carrying Chamber and demanded, "Passage back to the Kingpin gets the kid his life." Domino just looked at him and said,"Jean-Paul would you pl…." and trailed off. Suddenly the man screamed and dropped Jono. He rolled and came up facing Montana who collapsed as Feral slashed his Achilles tendons in a spray of blood. "I…I…" she stuttered before collapsing. Jono ran over to her, as did Northstar. Lotus and Domino continued to Montana. "You go back to the Kingpin, Montana. You tell him he's next." Grabbing the man, Domino threw him out the door in a furious heave. Turing she walked over and hugged Feral, surprising them all. "I'm glad you're ok." she said and then walked into the darkness of her corner. The others looked at each other in surprise.

That night, Blink was on guard duty when they had a visitor. He simply walked across the rooftop with complete assurance that he had the right to be there. She saw him. For some reason he was wearing red leather. Who the hell? "Oohhh" she murmured quietly to herself. That's who. "That's right" he replied, having heard her from the other side of the roof. "Daredevil. Bring the black and white one out. We have something to talk about." Blink laughed out loud. "Domino doesn't get up for everyone. I'm pretty certain she wont get up for you." She created a quick portal and jumped behind him planting her feet solidly in his back. He spun around and there was something in his hands, something hard that arced and smacked her in the head. "Ow," she replied. She jumped up and charged Daredevil but he easily avoided her and knocked her sprawling across the roof. She didn't get up. He turned to go into the building but a soft growl stopped him. "It's not nice to hurt people," Feral whispered- ferally. (Sorry). Daredevil smiled and swung his billy club in a short lot arc, taking Feral in the stomach, followed by a quick kick to the head. Feral was down. Dropping silently into the building, he found Chamber sleeping and knocked him out quietly.

He got up to find Northstar looking at him nonchalantly. "Something on your mind? You are, after all, a strange man in red leather standing above a sleeping child. Should we be worried?" Swinging the billy club again, Daredevil found his target gone. A small laugh behind his ear- right behind his ear- sent him spinning into motion. A fist swung up, found no target and Daredevil overbalanced slightly as Northstar appeared behind him and loosed a kick of his own. Daredevil whipped around and all that was left was a mocking laugh floating in the darkness of the warehouse. "I suppose you think the children were easy meat. That might prove fatal one day," Northstar taunted from somewhere among the rafters. Suddenly, he dropped to ground level in a flurry of blows and most of them connected. Daredevil grunted at the onslaught but Northstar flew away again before he could retaliate. Daredevil began to spin his billy club, waving it around in apparently random patterns.

Red Lotus advanced on Daredevil silently. All his attention was focused on searching for Northstar among the rafters. He struck quickly and silently, a blow that numbed one of Daredevil's arms and a kick that numbed a leg. Daredevil still managed to spin and swung his numb leg hard enough to knock Red Lotus aside. Suddenly, he was hit by Northstar flying from above like a bullet. Slamming into a crate, he grunted as the wind was driven out of him. Northstar backed off already, retreating to the rafters and Red Lotus advanced again as Daredevil pulled himself to his feet. A quick flurry of blows left Daredevil slammed against the crate, Northstar dropping down to the ground beside them.

"Boys, boys, boys," a voice floated over. Domino strolled out of her corner to lean against a crate, looking at Daredevil. "I can't leave you alone can I? But what has strolled into our lair tonight? How utterly bizarre. The protector of Hells Kitchen. Just the man I wanted to see." She smirked. "Let him up," she snapped to Lotus who backed away. "Now, I have a little…proposal for you," she cooed. Lotus looked at Northstar. Cooing? Domino? What the hell was going on here? His grandfather had recommended her too him as someone who could get things done but this was…bizarre. "Over the next few days there's going to be some serious changes in the Kitchen my little duckling, and one of those changes is going to involve the Kingpin. More accurately, I should say, the lack of the Kingpin." With a smile, Domino looked over at him. "Now do we have something to talk about?"

_Epilogue, _

_Zspunk,_

_The next morning,_

"So are you interested?" the man asked. Red Lotus turned in his seat to face him. "Yeah, I'm in" the younger man answers. "Excellent. You will find the rewards of service to be most…..pleasant." He reaches into his coat and clicks a device, teleporting the two away in a brief flash of light. On the other side of the apparently deserted club, Brock Rumlow emerges from the shadows. _So…that's what he's after_ he thinks but not to himself. Turning, he returns to the dojo where he trains students for the Taskmaster. It wasn't a bad job but there were far more….lucrative careers. As Red Lotus was no doubt discovering. Brock Rumlow smiled and then sat in the lotus position and prepared himself, opening for the telepathic contact. As always, two bright red drops trickled down his cheek like tears but he hardly noticed as he delivered his report. As always, after a service well done, ecstasy consumed him briefly. After a few moments, he stood on slightly shaky legs and wiped the two tears off his face. His mistress knew and that was all that mattered.


	3. Had a Great Fall Humpty Dumpty part 2

**3. Had a Great Fall**

**Humpty Dumpty Part 2**

_Natchios Dry Cleaning _

_Hells Kitchen_

_Mid Afternoon_

Five people pace along the street, ignoring the hustlers and pimps, the strange men selling fake Rolexs and the wide variety of streetside "amusement" available in Hells Kitchen. Turning a corner, they enter the large store whose window bears the sign "Natchios Dry Cleaning, Proprietor: Leander Natchios". Inside, a skinny clerk stands at the counter. "Welcome to Natchios Dry Cleaning, how can I help you?" he asks. Standard question. Non-standard answer. "Take us to..Leander. Now!" one of the figures snaps out in a commanding voice. None of the others react. The clerk turns. "I'll just have to see if he'll see you," he mutters. Walking to the back, past the drying racks, he turns to one of the guys who works there. Sometimes they pick up a bit of extra cash doing "odd jobs" for Leander. He also gives them free dry cleaning afterwards. "Hey, Paulie, there are some freaks out front asking for Leander. Just…." He breaks off when a hand seizes his arm. "Freaks," a voice says coldly. "I don't like the word…..'freak'." The clerk opens his mouth to apologize and is sent flying towards a rack by a quick judo style throw from Domino. The other mysteriously muscular employees stand up and turn towards the figures who had quite calmly followed the clerk in from the counter. Northstar, Feral and Domino walk forward.

A few minutes, much screaming, bleeding, snapping and on one occasion, a _pop-grrrr-aaagh-wubbble-hissssssssssss_, the guards were on the ground and Leander Natchios had just walked out of his office. "What the fk is going on here!" he demanded. Those had been some of his better enforcers. He looked over the strangers who were taking apart his muscle. "Who the freakin' hell are you weirdos?" he demanded rudely. Politeness obviously wasn't Natchios' strong point. He looked at Domino. "Well?" he demanded again. Ignoring him, she turned to Chamber who stood quietly at the rear. "Time to do your stuff. Is he or isn't he?" she asked the boy.

Chamber turned to stare at Natchios who was already striding furiously over towards them. Using his newly manifested telepathy, the boy dug into Leander Natchios' mind. Sorting through the thoughts of the latest girl he'd acquired and what he was going to do about his cousin Elektra's rebelliousness, he dug and dug and dug. He saw countless crimes and kept digging. Natchios' first murder, years ago, a prostitute who hadn't been as clean as she promised. He'd strangled her with his bare hands. His uncle and the fight he'd put up over the dry cleaning business. The triple dose of a painkiller an acquaintance had gotten his hands on for Leander. He hadn't felt a thing. Searching through the sordid life of Leander Natchios, Chamber endured rapes, beatings, fixes and murders. He dug and dug, feeling the fire that made up his chest expand and get hotter. The bandages crumbled to ash as his psionic fire expanded and burnt them away. The others backed off. They'd learnt quickly about the headaches you got when you got too close to Chamber's uncontrolled fire. Chamber's fire continued to grow as he probed Leander Natchios' mind.

Leander Natchios stormed over towards the people who had invaded his business and smashed up his guards. _Nobody_ messed with his business. Suddenly, he felt a horrible headache coming on. He ignored it and kept walking across the floor towards the group, shouting imprecations and threats. His headache got worse. _Who the hell were these clowns anyway?_ Where had someone got this kind of muscle? His headache intensified. He stumbled at his steps. Who cared. He was going to make them pay. Reaching into his coat, he drew out his two pistols. He hadn't gotten where he was by being unprepared. Trying to aim through vision blurring from the pain, he stared at the people. "You better get the f&(k out right now. Otherwise…." He said, waving the gun to complete the threat. They were just looking at him. His headache was terrible. It hurt like crazy. He dropped to one knee. Let them think he was getting a better aim or some shit. He didn't care. His head hurt too much for this crap. What was that, running down his shoulder? Sweat? He hadn't sweated this much since high school. He waved his aching head trying to flick the droplets off. They were still just looking at him. Why weren't they reacting? He was sweating so much. That kid's chest…..the fire…so hot…so close…so much fire. Keeling forward, Leander Natchios fell into blackness never to awaken again.

Chamber straightened stiffly, his fire receding into a tiny ball. Every time they'd tried this it ended the same way. The process was exhausting and fatal for the person he was probing. He didn't have enough control. He hated that part. He looked over at the remains of Leander Natchios and said _It wasn't him. He was a gang lord but he's never been called Kingpin in his life_. He looked again at Leander. Blood leaked from the burst vessels behind his eyes and ears. He hadn't even known. Jono needed to improve his control and fast. Otherwise Domino might decide his usefulness was at an end. He didn't want that. Domino was talking again. "Dammit! Blink, take us back. I want to find that snitch before tomorrow. I don't like being lied to. How the hell has the Kingpin kept it so no-one even knows who works for him?"

_The Warehouse_

_That night,_

Northstar wanted to settle down to sleep. He was exhausted. Domino had kept them going all afternoon looking for that snitch. Then, worse, she had found him. She'd made them all stay to watch, even the children, claiming she needed Blink to get home because she wasn't walking. He wished the children had been spared that. Jean-Paul Beaubier got up from his chair and walked over towards where Chamber had made his lair. Jean-Paul wished he hadn't fallen so far. He'd liked his previous life just a little too much. This kind of fate was often the result of liking your life too much. He'd been the pride of Canada, literally. The first Canadian skier to do something successfully for a long time, he'd quickly fallen into the party circuit, relying on his fame to get his drinks when more and more of his income was going up his nose and into his arms. It wasn't pretty. The testing. The shame. The whole nation turning against him. He had gone from being the posterboy for accepted homosexuality to being despised and hated. He'd probably set back gay rights in Canada 3 years' worth of work. They hated him too. He made them look bad. He'd turned to mercenary work to support his habits, taking job after job, lowering his standards but never his price. He had some pride. He knew just how much super speed and flight were worth on any job. He hated working with Domino. She was cruel, vicious and she dealt with some seriously dangerous people. He'd been with her for two years. He hadn't wanted to but he couldn't just leave Blink and poor Maria with her. They were going to get killed. Maybe not Clarice, she could handle herself but Maria needed to get out of this kind of life. She was going to get killed and soon. Berserker rages weren't a survival trait without a healing factor. Nor was having the mind of a relatively intelligent eight year-old when you weren't berserk, Jean-Paul mused. He doubted poor, broken Maria would live very long, in the real world or this one. Blink, well, Blink could take care of herself, Maria and anyone else with effort to spare. She would be fine without him. God, he needed a fix. This Jono kid was falling into this kind of life way too easily. Jean-Paul was worried. He was starting to like probing people. He probably hadn't noticed it himself but Jean-Paul could see it. The eagerness in his eyes when Domino told him they had a new target. He could see it in the lack of regret in the boy, with each death. Leander Natchios had been the fifth "Kingpin" they'd found. Every one had died under the boy's mental interrogation. What would happen if an enraged psi turned on them? It wouldn't be pretty. Arriving where Jono had made his lair he said "I'm about to start watch. You're on from three this morning, ok?" _Sure_ the reply drifted out of the darkness. _I'll be there_. "Jono…..are you ok?" Jean-Paul asked hesitantly. Dammit! How did you ask _"Don't you have a problem with the fact that you burnt somone's brain out their ears today?. _You couldn't. So "Are you ok?" would have to do. _Sure JP, I'm fine. _The reply floated into Jean-Paul's brain. He walked away, sighing under his breath. You couldn't help sometimes. All you could do was watch and hope. Walking to Blink and Maria's little space, he thought that this would be a more pleasant errand. Only a few minutes before Domino would insist he take watch. He had to hurry. It would be ok. Rapping his knuckles on the boxes, he walked around the corner. "Ladies?" he asked. Blink looked up at him and smiled tiredly. She had done a lot of teleporting today. Maria was curled in the corner. She said, "I'm bored. Somebody play with me. Will you play with me, Jon-Pawl?" she asked piteously. Jean-Paul's heart nearly broke. _I have to do something about her. There has to be something I can do_ _"_I can't play tonight, Maria. I have to go on watch. But I brought you a friend. Someone to play with now." From his pocket he pulled out a toy horse. "See, Maria? I brought you a pony.". The squeal of delight and the small furry body hitting his was so much gratitude. It hurt to know that Maria would not survive forever. He looked over at Blink, as Maria delightedly sat in the corner, talking to her new pony. She looked haggard. There was no way she would stay awake on watch tonight. Not middle watch. He walked over, hugging Maria once before he left. "Blink, you're on middle watch but I want you to get some sleep before I have to wake you up." he said quietly, not wanting to disturb Maria. She looked up at him, smiling tiredly. "Thank you for the horse Jean-Paul. She will like that," she said quietly, her strangely accentless voice soothing as always. "How is she?" Jean-Paul couldn't help himself asking. He hated these answers. He couldn't imagine how Blink managed to care for the girl all the time, knowing what was happening. "She's……….ok. Not better. You and I both know she's not getting better. But it's slowing. Maybe it will stop.". Turning her eyes to the giggling cat-girl in the corner, "Thank you again for the horse but you must go. You know how Domino hates it when you're late for watch," she said, without turning her head. "I'll see you at midnight.". Jean-Paul muttered some platitude. It was slowing. Leaving the corner of the filthy warehouse, the cat-child and the pink girl who cared for her, Jean-Paul hoped he could think of something to do for Maria. He had no intention of returning for Blink's watch. He'd stand the double watch himself. God, he needed a fix.

_The Warehouse_

_Midnight, that night_

Daredevil swung down towards the warehouse. This was the right one, where those mercenaries were staying. If they could deliver on their promise, though….He climbed over gutters and ladders, making his way stealthily across the rooftops. Arriving at the hideout, he started to climb in and was picked up by a pair of strong arms. "Ahhh, you enjoyed our last little romp so much you had to come back for another, eh?" a voice with a smooth French accent asked. Daredevil sighed. "Put me down, you moron! I need to talk with Domino," he forced out from between through clenched teeth, as politely as he could manage. "Oui, if you insist," Jean-Paul replied. And dropped him. Daredevil felt freefall set in instantly and reacted as quickly as he could, swinging his billy club out in a desperate attempt to grab something. He didn't feel it connect with anything at all. He could practically feel the ground approaching because of that Canadian idiot! Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed hold of his ankle and Daredevil felt the wind rushing along his body as he was flown back to the roof. Jean-Paul pulled him up and said, "Please, do come in, Domino will be along in a moment," and dropped him again. _Idiot! _Daredevil thought. As if he'd fall for something like that twice. There was no way that moron would try to pull the same trick. A moment before he hit the ground, Daredevil realised that Jean-Paul wasn't playing a trick, he was just a very, very nasty man.

A few minutes later, Domino walked out furious at that idiot for disturbing her sleep. "This better be good!" she snapped icily, as she strode into the corner of the warehouse where JP had dumped the man. He appeared to be meditating. "What is it, Daredevil?" she demanded quickly. "If this is just another—" she said, but he cut her off. "I have found the Kingpin.". Smooth voice. Who was he? "His name is Alexander Bont. As a cover he manages prize fighters but his main investment is in the underground pit fights. He runs the bookies and uses his fighters as muscle when they aren't fighting for him. He's controlling almost all the remaining crime in the Kitchen and I want you to help me fulfil the bargain," he said, speaking in a melodious voice. It got noticeably colder towards the end. "We'll be there," said Domino smoothly. "I assume you mean tomorrow night?" That wasn't a lot of time. Her people needed to rest from today. The kid better be up to scratch. A lot depended on him. "There is a club. Called 'The Ring'. It's where Bont runs his operation from. He should be there tomorrow night. I want you and all your people there and in place by 11." Standing, Daredevil walked out of the warehouse. He hated these people but if they helped him bring down Bont…….

After Daredevil left, Domino turned to Chamber, lurking in the shadows on the far side of the warehouse. "Did you get him?" she asked. "Yes." He replied. "Our friend is a certain college student by the name of Matthew Murdock. I thought you might like to know that he's blind." "HaHA! If this works we'll be set for a long time and if this doesn't….well there's plenty of places for someone to go to sleep in this city. Plenty of places."

_The Ring,_

_Hells Kitchen Nightclub_

_The Next Night,_

Daredevil moved through the club. He was wearing his costume and wasn't the slightest bit out of place. This wasn't a normal club. He worked his way gradually through the heaving crowds, hearing the roar from the arena as another fighter went down. He had no idea who it was. He didn't care. The roar of the crowd nearly muffled the announcer's voice, "Another victory for the newest champion of the Ring, the Vixen!" Daredevil grimaced. Where the hell did they come up with these names? He'd sensed Domino and Northstar around the club earlier and he had to assume the others were in position. He moved towards the pit. He caught a familiar scent but decided it must be just a mistake. _She wouldn't be here, would she?_ _No, this wasn't her kind of place._ He approached the circle as the announcer was calling for challengers. "I'm in," he said, hailing the attention of the man whipping up the crowd. "You sure, kid? This chick isn't for amateurs". _This chick?_ "I said I'm in," he replied. "What's your name then?" the announcer asked quickly, holding his hand over the microphone. "Daredevil'" Murdock replied. Shrugging, the announcer turned to the mic and began to hype the crown once more. "Laaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemen, we have an all new accessorized challenger for our reigning champion. Presenting…..dumdudumdumdumdumdumdum DAREDEVIL VS KAREN "THE VIXEN" PAGE!."

_Alexander Bont's Private area_

_The Ring_

_Hells Kitchen,_

Alexander Bont was enjoying a fairly relaxing evening. It had been a good day. Someone appeared to be killing off his rivals in a very quick, efficient and fairly vicious fashion. Not that he was complaining, he'd had a nice long chuckle to himself this morning when hearing that Leander Natchios had been found in what had been described as the 'Kitchen Dry Cleaners Massacre' by the papers. He had someone look into it when he could stop laughing and found out that Natchios had died of a massive set of cerebral aneurysms, apparently a congenital defect. Bont had nearly killed himself laughing again. The police department of Hells Kitchen was not only riddled with informers and bought men, it was incapable of keeping up with the times. Bont chuckled again remembering. These telepaths posed a risk but they could weren't very entertaining to watch in the ring. Just standing there, then the other guy (or girl) would fall over. There had been that rich woman who'd come slumming one night. Wanted a little thrill. Strange. She'd managed to talk her way into the hardcore category and Bont hadn't suspected she'd last a minute. He'd thrown her in the melee so as not to waste the fight and five minutes later the crazy bh had been standing above two gibbering wrecks, a smoking carcass and the last guy….well Bont didn't like to remember what had happened to the last guy. That had been one time Bont had been scared. Thank Christ she'd never come back. No, with the exception of the crazy rich bh, telepaths were barred from the Arena. No entertainment. This new girl though, calling herself Vixen or some nonsense, she had potential. Bont had picked her up after her debts started getting out of control and originally intended to use her as a streetwalker. She'd taken down two guards, muttered something about having a ninja for a father or something and he'd stuck her in the pit fights. She'd been worth it. Plus, she'd paid her debt off ages ago and still kept coming back. Adrenaline junkie. The best kind. They'd keep coming back for more and more until they bit it. He smiled hearing the crowd's roar. Sounded like "The Vixen" had just taken down another looser. He heard the announcer revving the crowd, squeezing every drop of excitement out of them. Bont made a mental note to remember the guy. Potential. Who was she fighting now? "Laaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemen, we have an all new accessorized challenger for our reigning champion. Presenting…..dumdudumdumdumdumdumdum DAREDEVIL VS KAREN "THE VIXEN" PAGE!.". Bont jumped up with a roar. "What the friggen' hell is he doing here?" Suddenly, he smiled, waving the enforcers back from their standing positions. "Let's see where this goes." He grinned this time, showing a lot of teeth. This might work out nicely after all.

_The Ring, _

_The Ring Nightclub_

_Hells Kitchen,_

Daredevil did a double take as the announcer roared out the name. _Karen Page? Surely it couldn't be the same…_he thought but was cut off with a _woof_ as he was hit by a spear tackle. Rolling with the force, he used her momentum to flip her off him, jumping to his feet. He could perceive her jumping up almost instantly, displaying an almost superhuman coordination. She threw herself at him again but this time he was ready for her. Dodging to the side, he hooked a leg out behind him, catching her feet and flipping her over her back at an awkward angle. She tried to roll but he pounced on her, forcing her arms up behind her shoulders where the bones threatened to break. She snarled at him with the same terrible viciousness, completely at odds with the Karen Page he knew but she smelled the same. She was the same person. The crowd was chanting. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The roar for blood was vicious. The Vixen had been champion. Past tense. His hearing was almost overloaded but he still managed to pick out Domino's voice, calling out, "Just kill her and get it over with, Murdock." He stiffened faintly with shock. _How does she know?_ His thoughts raced. He decided to go with the melodramatic route. Nothing better presented itself. Oh well. "Bont!" he called, "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Beneath him, Karen had stiffened, struggling to get away. She didn't want to be caught like this. Bont emerged from the back room, leading a pack of enforcers. People had clicked on to what was happening and the club was emptying rapidly. Daredevil could sense Domino, Northstar and a few others moving to the front but they were fighting the press. He could feel Karen struggling still. He leant down and said, "Stop that. I'm not going to break your arms. Just play along and you'll get out of this ok, Karen." Her face froze. She turned as best she could to look at him and whispered, "Murdock? What the f&(k are you doing here?" He ignored her, pressing down on her back. "What's the matter, Bont? Didn't think you could deal with me without four enforcers to help? Luckily, I brought backup." Releasing Karen, he charged towards Bont, hearing the subtle sounds of Northstar speeding overhead towards the enforcers, feeling a strange and sudden appearance as two more figures arrived off to the side. Feeling the sudden heat as another one of Domino's Crew revealed themselves blasting fire from his chest, Daredevil charged towards the Kingpin, threw himself aside as the enforcers opened fire. Almost instantly, the chambers in the weapons jammed and Murdock was racing across the pit towards Bont again. The enforcers charged ahead but were met by the Crew halfway across. Bont readied himself as Murdock arrived. Circling each other warily, the battle was joined.

Blink split up from Maria as soon as Feral came out. It didn't take much for Feral to come out these days. When the enforcers opened fire, she simply opened portals in front of her and Feral that carried the bullets behind them. Domino was, of course, fine and her powers kicked in, jamming up the guns. Northstar never had any problems with bullets and Chamber could just absorb them into his chest now. Running with the others, she met the charging enforcers in almost the middle of the bit. _How's that for symbolism_, she thought. Her opponent was an incredibly large man who obviously thought a pink teenager was no trouble. Blinking herself up to just behind his head, she let loose a powerful kick behind her, stunning him and landing neatly on the ground. The others had all had as little trouble with their guards, JP was already done, Feral had sliced the hamstrings of the man who marked her and he was down and whimpering. Chamber had simply blown away the guy facing him and was turning to see what was happening. Daredevil had just reached the Kingpin and the two were trading blows. Suddenly, she heard a cry ring out from just behind her. She turned. _Oh crap_ she thought. This wasn't going to end well.

Domino was right about to let loose with a second, fatal blow when Murdock pulled away from his duel with the Kingpin. "What the hell are you doing?" he screamed across the large room. Domino looked at him contemptuously. "She pulled a gun. "I'm not letting her shoot any of my Crew, you jack!" she snapped suddenly. Murdock ran over to her but the Kingpin got up behind him, grabbing a gun off the ground. He fired three shots straight at Murdock. The Crew reacted instantly. Northstar hit Daredevil with a flying tackle, laying him out of the path of the bullets almost before they had left the gun, Feral sprang at Bont but Blink 'ported her behind him and Chamber simply blew his fire towards the bullets, melting them. Domino barely moved, dropping Karen Page to the ground, where she immediately curled into a fetal position. Domino strode over to where Feral had Bont pinned to the ground with her claws, on the edge of a berserker rage. She smashed her fist across his face. "Chamber," she snapped. "Get over here and do your thing." Jono walked over and sat down, next to Bont. He began to probe the man with as much delicacy as he could muster, just touching the edges of his mind. Bont could feel this through the pain of Feral's claws and he began to struggle. Feral flexed her fingers and he stopped.

Chamber probed, Bont's terrified mind easy to read. He picked up flashes of rapes, beatings, murders, crimes of almost every variety. He saw years' worth of pit fights, when something caught his attention. He went back to it, like rewinding a video and felt something stopping him from seeing what had happened at this point. Bont had seen it but he couldn't tell Jono. Jono could feel the thing, like a bomb in Bont's mind waiting to explode. If he tried, his mind would be wiped and he would spend the rest of his days a drooling idiot. Chamber backed out quickly, double checking that he had the data he required. He sat up slowly and turned to Domino. He's the Kingpin, he projected. She smiled grimly. "Excellent." She flicked her communicator and said, "He's ready. Come on in." She looked back at Bont and spat. Turning away, she backed off a few meters whilst the doors to the club opened to admit another person.

After being tackled and ascertaining Bont had been dealt with, Daredevil shook off Jean-Paul's "You're welcome" and jogged over to Karen. She was curled in a foetal position but when he touched her, her hand lashed out and grabbed his wrist. He said softly, "Karen," and she uncurled a little to look at him. "I think my hand is broken," she whispered. "That's ok," he said. "Why did you pull the gun?" She blushed, and replied, "I had to do something. The goons had seen me and if you got killed, I needed Bont to think I was on his side.," she whispered. She tried to get up and managed only with his help. He looked up and saw Domino spit on Bont before he heard the doors open. _Oh God, who now? _ he thought. "Who is it?" he asked Karen. When she replied, he sighed. He should have known.

_Clap, clap, clap_ went the Taskmaster's hands as he walked through the deserted club. "You have done very nicely, Domino," he said. "All debts are cancelled." He turned to Daredevil. "I do hope you don't plan to make any trouble," he said. "After all, then I'd have to kill you and you have proved so very useful. I have a wonderful man working with me at the moment, he could do wonders with you, I think. Name of Stick. Odd name, isn't it? As for your friend….well, I'm sure I could find something for her to do." He chuckled. Smiling still, he walked over to Bont and, without changing expression or posture, whipped out a gun and shot Bont three times in the head. He collapsed back in a bloody spray. "Oh, look. It appears I've been promoted to Kingpin," he said calmly. "Isn't life funny like that?" Turning to Domino, he said, "You did very, very well my dear. I do hope you haven't mislaid that young Red Lotus boy. The Triads wouldn't be happy with you at all." He turned once again to Daredevil. "Run along, boy," he said contemptuously. "Go play super hero in your costume and don't interfere with me. I'm running a different kind of Kitchen to Bont!" Ignoring Daredevil who left, taking Karen with him, he turned back to Domino. "I don't suppose you have any little tricks that will insure that young man's cooperation? A most troublesome customer." Domino replied smoothly, "Of course I do. I believe you know my associate Chamber?" Domino indicated the boy. "Chamber is possessed of substantial psionic talent and has acquired a, say, psi-lock on the girl. Daredevil holds her in some affection. If he makes trouble, contact me and we'll have Chamber start delivering psychic shocks. You'll be amazed at how quickly someone stops being a problem once the brain turns against them." Briefly, her faced twisted with remembered pain. "If you need some extra muscle, let us know. Otherwise…..Blink! Let's go!" she said in parting. Walking over to Blink, she and Chamber passed through the portal which Blink snapped closed behind them, leaving the new Kingpin alone with the body of his predecessor and his guards. Chuckling once more, the Kingpin called his guards in. _A most useful and fascinating woman_ he mused. _It_'_s almost a pity. It's a good thing that I've got my little surprise_. Chuckling again, he strode out. Grabbing a lackey as he passed, he said, "I've got a mission for our agent. Tell her to get in contact with me before tonight." The man nodded and continued his grisly work. The new Kingpin left the scene of his rise.

_Matthew Murdock's apartment_

_Hells Kitchen Community College district,_

Karen sat on the couch curled into a ball. "Not that I'm not grateful to you for helping with tonight, Matt, but I think you have a little explaining to do," she said, sipping some coffee. "I do believe that you're supposed to be blind." From the kitchen, Murdock smiled. "Well it's almost a funny story…" he began before stopping suddenly, as a person smashed through the window. Dropping his coffee, he raced to the lounge, sniffing, _feeling_ to determine who had just attacked him. Hearing the sounds of struggle, the grunt and the thud. He felt the scent of the attacker come swirling down mixed with Karen's. What! _The cat girl? Domino had sent the cat girl? That didn't make sense. _He desperately cast around for any trace of the attacker but heard the faint whisper of her clothes as she flew back out the window. "Karen?" he asked. "Are you ok?" Then the smell of the blood hit him. "No," he whispered, jumping over to where Karen's body lay on the couch. He reached out with trembling hands to touch her' finding the huge slash at her throat. Jagged. Made by an animal. _Why? _He realised that he had frozen up. He had to do something to tell the authorities, Karen was a registered student. Her disappearance would be noticed. Then, he would have to do something about Domino.


	4. All the King's Horses Humpty Dumpty part

**4. All The Kings Horses**

**Humpty Dumpty Part 3**

_Matthew Murdock's Apartment,_

_Hell's Kitchen,_

The police closed the door quietly. Matthew Murdock sat on his bed. He had called them as soon as he could after Karen…they had been very kind to the poor blind man. He shivered, furious. He couldn't believe Domino had done what she had done. He grabbed his Daredevil costume from where he had stashed it when he got back with Karen. _Karen._ He shivered this time, coldly furious. Pulling on the costume, he planned his approach out methodically. It wasn't a difficult plan. He was going down to that filthy warehouse Domino and her scum were staying at. And he was going to kill them. Pulling on the hood, Daredevil threw himself from his apartment window. They would pay.

_The Crew's Warehouse, _

_Hell's Kitchen, _

_Two Hours after the fight at "The Ring", _

Chamber was on watch. He didn't know exactly _why_ he was on watch, he was there because Domino had told him he needed to be there. As far as he was concerned, the old Kingpin was dead, the new Kingpin was practically Dom's best mate, that Daredevil wacko was holed up wherever he holed up with the crazy pit-fighter broad, and he was standing watch. Everyone else got to sleep. But noooooooo, not him. _Stupid Domino. "We need someone on watch Jono. Everyone else needs more rest but you get better just by not talking." Crazy woman. _Suddenly, out of the darkness, he was hit in the back of the head with a billy club, falling to the floor of the rooftop without a sound. Daredevil stalked silently over to the boy's unconscious body, kicking him viciously in the stomach. This filth would pay later. First, the cat-girl. Then the rest. Slipping silently through the door down to the warehouse proper, Daredevil entered the warehouse.

Silently moving down the stairs, Daredevil quickly ran through his head who was here. Cat-girl, purple girl, telepath boy, Domino and Northstar. The last two were the real threats, them and the telepath. But he was out cold on the roof and Murdock doubted he would wake up in time to get in the way. Domino could be very dangerous but this might be over before she could interfere. Northstar was the main threat. He had to be dealt with as soon as possible. Slinking down the stairs, Matt's breath caught in his throat. There she was. Cat-girl. The one who had killed Karen. Sleeping so innocently and peacefully. Murdock's face twisted with anger under his mask. Creeping forward, he threw himself at the girl, landing on top of her. She started to struggle, making piteous mewling sounds but Daredevil clenched his hands around her throat and squeezed. She would pay.

Blink woke up to a horrible sound. Maria was crying. Groggily rolling over, she saw the bizarre and horrifying sight of Maria struggling in vain against the figure on top of her. Reacting out of an instinctive protectiveness, Blink lashed out with her powers automatically. _The pool of blood, the screams, the yelling_. Gasping, Blink struggled against her powers, desperately trying to control them. She wouldn't do it again. She wouldn't. Fighting the pull with everything she had, she reasoned that Jono was already down and probably dead. Maybe everyone else too but they were closest to the ladder. Mustering what strength she could, she screamed out "JEAN-PAUL!"

Jumping up at the sound of a scream, Jean-Paul raced in the direction of Blink and Maria's sleeping spots. Arriving almost instantaneously, he witnessed the terrible scene before him. Maria stuggling desperately and Daredevil choking the life out of her, suddenly rearing up and….._What was that?_ It looked like every piece that had been Daredevil had, just for a moment, been somewhere else. He doubted anyone else could have seen it. _What could have….Blink? Nevermind. This wasn't the time. _Speeding over, Jean-Paul simply hit the still stunned and twitching Daredevil with a flying tackle, slamming him into a stack of crates. The man whipped around at an almost super-human speed and slammed a fist into Jean-Paul's fast almost before he could do anything. Jaw numb even though he had already been drawing back, Jean-Paul began to slam fists into Daredevil's stomach and gut, hitting him over and over again. "Blink! " he screamed. "Get us all out of here!"

Finally managing to pull her power back under control, Blink looked up, absorbing the changes. Jean-Paul had arrived and Daredevil was under control for the moment. Powering up quickly, she 'ported Maria to the roof and "jumped" over to the just waking Domino. After nearly getting shot, she 'ported her to the roof as well and ran back, snapping up JP and "jumping" to the roof as well. Looking over at Domino, who was inspecting Chamber's body, she asked, "Where to now?"

Domino ignored Blink's question for the moment, leaving JP to comfort Maria and examining Chamber. He was still alive, just out for a good few hours unless something was done. She'd have a talk with him when he woke up. "Take us to Alphabet City, Blink. I know a guy," she said. "He can get us patched up before we..." but Jean-Paul cut her off. "What about Maria?" he demanded angrily. "What are we going to do about her? We have to get her out of here." Spinning around, Domino snapped angrily at him, "What we need to do is get Chamber awake, your face tended to and to find out why that psycho's trying to kill us. Now, Blink..." she finished. "Domino!" Jean-Paul shouted. "It's not enough this time. She was nearly killed! She can't stay here anymore. LOOK at her!" Turning to face Maria, Domino watched her, face emotionless. The girl was shivering, a huge bruise coming up on her throat. She looked more pathetic and childlike than ever. Looking back at Jean-Paul, Domino said quietly, "You think I don't know that? I saved her myself the first time and I'm going to find out why so I can stop that maniac this time! You think I'm going to let her die? Do you?" she was almost shouting when she finished, chest heaving. "We can't just hide her away and let this go, JP. This could ruin us. We have to find out why and once we get patched up, I know who will know. Now, Blink…if you wouldn't mind..." she said, turning. Unfortunately, Daredevil burst onto the roof, throwing himself at Maria who jumped back shrieking. Jean-Paul flew towards him but suddenly the Crew vanished, leaving the rooftop empty except for Daredevil.

_Doc Zhao's "office",_

_Alphabet City,_

In the front room while someone attended to Maria, Jean-Paul was pacing. To everyone else, he seemed to be jogging from one side of the room to the other. The door opens and a small, wizened Asian man leads Maria out by the hand. "There you are, child, as good as new," he rambles, the smell of spirits strong on his breath. "You owe me a favour, Domino," he snaps sharply, turning back to the inner room. Domino impatiently nods agreement and turns to Blink. "Time for a little visit to our dear, dear friend the Kingpin." She says as they vanish with a faint _snap_.

_Zspunk Nightclub, _

_Hell's Kitchen,_

The Crew materialize in the underground training level of the Taskmaster's academy. The music from the club upstairs throbs down through the floor. The Crew spread out warily and head upstairs, Chamber leading the way. Splitting up to move through the pulsating crowds, they converge on the Taskmaster sitting in his VIP lounge surrounded by enforcers. He spots Domino, Blink and Maria approaching and tells the enforcers, "Start getting the people out of here. I don't want business ruined after tonight." The man nods and closes the bar, herding the crowds out with the help of the bouncers. The Kingpin looks at Domino, Blink and finally focuses on Maria. "Remarkable," he says quietly. "Absolutely uncanny." "What is?" Domino snaps. "Why, the resemblance," the corpulent man replies. "Come with me.". He leads the Crew through the club back down to another section of the training rooms. From an observation deck, they observe a girl who looks like an older Maria going through a quick series of vicious exercises, tearing dummies and bags apart. "Who…" Domino begins but breaks off as Feral throws herself at the reinforced plastic viewing window, desperately trying to tear her way to the woman below. Sensing the commotion, she turns her face to the window and immediately bolts to a door when she sees Feral. Feral turns to run but is blocked by the Kingpin's men and crouches back. She suddenly throws herself against the plastic again, the impact breaking the paneand dropping her the three meters to the room below. She races to the door but it seals itself with a snap, a metallic _thunk_ telling the observers that Feral wasn't getting out that way. Pacing up and down, she tried to throw herself back to the observation deck but couldn't reach the height. Screaming and yowling in frustration, Feral ran around the room. Behind the Kingpin's men, the other woman arrives. "What are you doing with that girl?" she demands angrily. "Let me go to her!" "Not without a very good reason," Domino replies calmly. The second cat-girl turns to Domino and screams, "I'm her sister!" Grabbing the woman, Domino drags her to a corner. "We need to talk."

"My name is Lucia," the girl began. "I am Maria's older sister." Domino, Blink and JP looked at her. She looked like an older Maria, with an almost identical mutation. "I have not seen her since the…incident….where our stepfather died." Turning to face Domino, she said, "I know you remember that. I'll explain anyway. You see, Maria has a rare variant of multiple personality disorder. Think of it as MPD crossed with bi-polarity. There aren't heaps of people in her head. Just two. Maria and…the other one. Mother used to call her Feral. Maria is a wonderful girl. She's sweet and kind and she did everything she could to help others. Feral, however is a vicious, spiteful, aggressive creature. The good days we wouldn't even see Feral. The bad days, she wouldn't go away. There weren't many bad days until mother died. Our stepfather Jacob was not a cruel man. He looked after two mutant children who weren't his own. But he didn't know how to deal with Feral. She began to come out more and more. As she did, we noticed that Maria was getting….I don't know how to explain this. We couldn't afford doctors when this happened. Maria seemed to be going one way while Feral was going the other. As Feral came out more, grew more dominant, Maria….slid backwards. She became sweeter, more innocent and more childlike. Soon, she was barely capable of having a coherent conversation. She was beginning to use baby-talk when it happened." She turned her face away. Jean-Paul pressed for more. "It?" he asked. "Yes!" she snapped. "It. Jacob was depressed. It was the anniversary of mother's death. It had been a good week. Almost no Feral. But he tried to take away Maria's ponies. That was a mistake. I arrived to late to stop it. I was 16! I panicked. I screamed and ran. Feral had come out and killed him! She was sitting there, drinking his blood like some kind of animal. She looked up at me and grinned. I just screamed and ran away. The neighbours came to see. They found Jacob. Things got ugly. I ran and hid. I tried to get to Maria but there were men beating me with pieces of wood. I ran away and hid." Lucia began to weep. "I couldn't save my sister. I'm just glad someone did. I thought she died in that apartment and now, to find her alive…." She wiped at her face. "I lived on the streets, using my claws to protect myself. I survived. I work here now, for the Taskmaster. I don't like what I do but…" she lowered her head. "I did what I had to do to survive. I have a life now. But Maria…..What has she been doing all these year? Please…" she begged.

Blink answered. "The bad one…Feral…has been coming out more and more. Maria can barely talk now. Short baby talk conversations are all. If only we'd known we might have been able to do something. Now…" she trailed off. "Just know that she was happy," Jean-Paul added. "She had her ponies." Lucia lowered her head to her arms, sobbing brokenly. "All these years…I never looked for her after that night…..I can't believe I left her to die…" she wept brokenly. Behind Blink and Jean-Paul, Domino's face was twisted in pain. Tears were trickling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, one of the enforcers shouted. Feral has managed to climb up to the deck, but she isn't attacking. She looks at Lucia and hisses. "All this time and you left me….you left me to die. Well, how does it feel, sister dear? How does it feel to know you abandoned me?" her voice peaked in a vicious shout. "How does it feel?" she screamed again, her face twisting. Maria's childlike tones emerge. "Why did you leave me, Lusha? Why? I missed you," she asked, piteously weeping. Lucia looks up, face stricken. "Maria…I.." she begins when three of the enforcers are slammed to the ground viciously. Daredevil has arrived. Jean-Paul launches himself at him but Daredevil, having learnt from he previous experiences, is already swinging the club and Jean-Paul is sent sprawling. He throws himself past Domino, avoiding Blink's swing and Chamber's blast. Grabbing Maria, he says coldly, "I can't tell which cat-girl it is. So I guess I'll just have to kill both of them." His hands move around her throat, about to snap her neck when Lucia launches herself at him. Knocking him back through the remains of the window, they land with a thud on the training room floor. Lucia on the bottom, Daredevil straddling her stomach holding her head in his hands. With a vicious snap, her neck breaks.

In the observation deck, Maria watches her sister die and snaps completely. Throwing herself through the window, she takes the last of the pane with her. Throwing herself at Daredevil, she snarls wordlessly. The two face off, the hissing feline and the costumed man. In the observation deck, Blink runs to the window but a plate of metal snaps down. She tries to port through and finds something blocking her teleportation. She turns to the Taskmaster, grabbing his shoulders but he answers hurriedly, "This is the most private training room. If the pane is taken out, it seals itself. Teleportation lock included." "WHAT!" Blink screams. "There's been a hole there for the last 20 minutes!" "I know that," Taskmaster says calmly, "But when she jumped down Maria…Feral took out the rest of the pane. The system has a glitch that stops it from activating if there's any of the original pane left.". Yelling in frustration, Blink throws him away and turns back. Suddenly, she spins. "Jono!" she yells. "Break it down!" He turns and a huge blast is unleashed, destroying his bandages. The metal plate dents but does not break. "Hurry!" Blink screams. Jono blasts again and again, denting the plate out but not breaking it. The Crew wait anxiously.

Inside the training room, Feral and Daredevil face off. Circling each other, they both bear wounds, bruises and cuts. With a vicious swipe, Feral opens up a gash along Daredevil's thigh but his arms whip out and draw her back to him, holding her motionless. He grabs her legs and lifts her up, as the observation deck window explodes open in a huge burst, the silver streak that is Northstar blurring towards them. He brings her down.

As Jono manages to unleash a final blast before dropping to his knees exhausted, Northstar blurs with speed, flying into the room. He swerves to avoid shards of debris and dodges hefty chunks of metal, he sees Daredevil raise Maria up and bring her down. He sees the girl's face in almost the same second that he hears the snap of her spine across the man's knee. He slams into Daredevil at more than 80 km/s, sending him flying to a wall. He catches Maria before she hits the ground. As he holds her in his arms, she coughs and twitches, trying to use limbs that will never work again. Laying her gently on the ground, he blurs, pushing himself to the limit. He scoops up Daredevil and flies out past the rest of the Crew, only just throwing themselves through the window and out into the night sky.

Blink jumps down followed a split second later by Domino and they rush to Maria, seeing no sign of Daredevil. Instantly, they can see there is serious damage; there is blood on her lips and bone sticking out her side. Stroking Maria's face, Domino touches her and flinches as the girl tries to draw back from the touch. "Blink... " she whispers. "Get her to a hospital. Now." Blink vanishes, taking Maria with her. Domino storms over to the door, kicking it down, her powers making her kick hit a weak spot leaving the door hanging from a single hinge. She runs to the observation deck before the Taskmaster can get away.

_Mercy Hospital,_

_New York, _

Blink rushes in, porting Maria onto a table, flinching at the scream the movement draws from the girl. She starts 'porting over doctors and stretchers and nurses, everything she can think of that they'd need and after a single glance at the look on Blink's face, the doctors get to work.

_The Rooftops, _

_Hell's Kitchen,_

Northstar stops suddenly, the wind of his passage whipping past him. He throws Daredevil directly at a wall. Hard. The man in red hits and slumps to the ground, his injuries serious. Slamming down, Northstar punches and kicks, battering him into object after object, fists, bricks, chimneys, ventilation ducts. He unleashes a vicious kick that clearly snaps more than one of Daredevil's ribs and pulls his arm up behind his shoulder. "Why did you do it, you bastard!" he whispers coldly in Daredevil's ear. "You destroyed an innocent girl tonight! You call yourself a protector? What have you done for these people other than fight a few muggers and get involved in personal vendettas?" Daredevil tries to answer but Jean-Paul slams his arm up, breaking it at the elbow and pulling it out of the socket. The answer becomes a grunting yelp of agony. "Did you know Maria was from Hell's Kitchen? One of the people you were going to _protect?_" Northstar hisses viciously. Slamming Daredevil through some fragile brickwork, he watches as the self proclaimed protector of Hell's Kitchen falls to the ground nearly 2 meters below. He doesn't get up. Northstar spits after him and flies off, back to Zspunk. _Maybe Maria is still alive. Maybe._

_Training Rooms, _

_Zspunk Nightclub,_

Domino slammed the Taskmaster against the wall. The bodies of his guards lay dead or twitching on the ground and Chamber was standing up from where he had been crouched. The guards had been beating him. Domino had come in, guns blazing. Now, the Taskmaster was pushed against the wall. With an eerie calm, Domino said, "I think I'm going to follow good old fashioned Mafia tradition. Not a horse's head under your bed. Something more…visceral." A blur signalled Jean-Paul arriving just as Domino pointed her pistol at the Taskmaster and shot him twice in each kneecap. He fell to the ground, screaming. She kicked him in the stomach. "You try to do this kind of thing again and you die. To anyone that I don't want dead myself, that is," Domino finished up in the same tone of voice. She turned to Jean-Paul and said, "Blink's taken her to a hospital. I'm not sure which one. Where is Daredevil?" Jean-Paul just looks at her sadly. "Where is he!" she screams. "You aren't the only one who wants their piece!" He continues to look at her and then blurs and vanishes. She roars in frustration, kicking a guard's body. Chamber looks at her, not attempting to speak.

_Mercy Hospital, _

_New York, _

Blink looks through the window at Maria, lying in intensive care. She probably wouldn't survive the night. Suddenly, Jean-Paul is standing next to her, panting faintly. He looks at Maria without saying anything and his face twists with grief. Blink holds a hand out silently and he takes it, remaining that way for the rest of the night. Blink sleeps in a chair, early the next morning. When she wakes up, Jean-Paul is gone.

_Alphabet City,_

Jean-Paul slams the dealer into the ground, ignoring the shouts. Rummaging through his pockets, he finds all his stock and takes it. Moments later, he lies in the crown of the Statue of Liberty and shoots himself to heaven for the first time in three years.

_Epilogue, _

_The Training Rooms, _

_Zspunk Nightclub_

Brock Rumlow inspected the ruins of the Taskmaster's kneecaps. "This will require surgery. Even that might not be enough." The Taskmaster just glared at him, angry and infuriated at the man for stating the obvious. "Go away, Rumlow. I'm not in the mood to deal with your nonsense," he said sharply. Rumlow left the room humming to himself. Entering his own quarters, he assumed the Lotus position. He needed to report to his mistress.


	5. Nasty! On the Left part 1

**5. Nasty!**

**On the Left part 1**

_A Car in the Middle of New York, _

_Shortly after the events at Zspunk,_

Chamber sat quietly as Domino drove in a furious silence. She sped and swerved, neither gesturing nor screaming abuse as was her custom when driving. Ignoring all other traffic, she slammed into the parking garage of an apartment building, using a security code that Jono couldn't see. Following silently as she strode forcefully through to an elevator, he watched as she punched the button for the 11th floor. Getting out, she strode across the hall, walking into an apartment as though she owned it. Maybe she did. Jono was reminded that he knew next to nothing about Domino. He didn't even know what her powers were. Turning, she said, "We will stay here for a few days. Blink knows where. Just stay here for a bit," before walking off and shutting a door. The click of a lock echoed across the silent room. Jono turned, exhausted looking for a bedroom. He was exhausted; blowing out the window had taken everything he had. He spotted another door across the room and walking across slowly, he entered and collapsed gratefully on the bed.

Waking up the next morning, he emerged from the bedroom, blinking at the sunlight flooding the living area. _Nice place,_ he thought to himself, wandering in the direction of the kitchen he had spotted the night before. Realising that he could no longer eat and it was only habit that had led him to the kitchen, Jono thought a rude word and wandered back to the lounge. He dropped into the couch gratefully and flicked on the television, channel surfing before he found something playing music videos. He didn't even notice when he dozed off.

Clarice Ferguson woke up, curled in a chair in Mercy Hospital near Maria's intensive care room. No-one had been brave enough to try and find out where Maria had gotten such horrific injuries, not after Blink's display yesterday. Looking around, she realised that Jean-Paul was gone. Wondering if it was for coffee or for good, she strode over to the observation window, heart twisting as she looked down at Maria, lying helpless in the bed. Daredevil had snapped Maria's spine and she'd been helpless to do anything because of that damn window. Helpless. Staring at Maria, she ignored the nurses coming in to adjust medication or the doctors to administer shots. Just watching Maria. Three hours later, she realised that people were talking to her. Turning, she saw police, looking at her expectantly. Jean-Paul wasn't here. One of the police asked, "Miss? Can you tell us anything?" but Clarice ignored her, 'porting out with the faintest of sounds.

Chamber was dozing in front of the television when suddenly Clarice appeared in front of him, crying. He jumped up and nearly blew her to pieces but she didn't notice. Running to the bathroom, she came out a moment later blowing her nose on a tissue. Sighing, she said, "Maria is in intensive care. Mercy Hospital. The cops are there so I had to leave." Dropping onto the couch, she asked, "What happened at Zspunk?" He told her in a short burst, filling her in on the confrontation between Domino and Taskmaster and the result. Have you seen Jean-Paul? he asked. She nodded slightly. "He came to the hospital. He…he was really upset. I don't think he will come back. When I woke up this morning, he was gone." Wishing he could still whistle, Chamber sent Domino is not going to be happy with that he started but broke off suddenly, seeing what was on the television. A news bulletin had just started and the announcer was looking solemn. "The area of the city known as 'Hell's Kitchen' is becoming more and more of an issue in the upcoming election. The brutal beating of blind law student Matthew Murdock last night has become a major platform for the candidates, with repeated references to the incumbent's incompetence. Mr. Murdock remains in a critical condition at the community hospital but the prognosis is good. The election debate continues to rage..." she continued but Chamber muted the sound, turning to face Blink. "Jono, what is it?" she asked, knowing something was wrong. That kid…Murdock. He was Daredevil, Blink, he said, knowing what must have happened. There were only so many people who could beat up someone like him so badly. "Jean-Paul." she stated, sorrowfully. "He must have…." Trailing off, she suddenly asked, "Where's Domino?" He nodded his head toward the bedroom to which Domino had retired and from which she had not yet emerged from. She hasn't come out since last night, not that I've seen, he sent. He wondered if there were any good clubs near here. He wasn't legal but he doubted that would be a problem. He'd enjoyed his first few days at Zspunk and he wanted to get back onto the scene. Walking back to his room, he grabbed his trench coat and headed for the door. I'm going out, he sent to the exhausted Clarice who was already dozing on the lounge. She mumbled something sleepily.

_A Gothic Club, _

_Near Domino's Apartment,_

Chamber slid into the heaving, throbbing mass of people, large trench coat practically passé in this kind of club. He didn't even have any visible piercings. Turning towards the bar checking out the crowd, he stopped dead, staring at a blond woman in the corner. About 18, maybe 20, long, blond hair, figure she'd clearly had to kill for, blood red lipstick. Flash of a piercing as she licked her lips after a sip of her drink. Getting a hold of himself, Jono is glad he hasn't got a mouth because otherwise he'd be drooling. Knowing she was out of his league, however, just made it all the more interesting. Sliding through the crowed, he made his way to one of the booths at the back, securing an empty one by glaring. Wishing he could drink, he was watching the heaving mass on the dance floor when someone slid in next to him. Turning, he saw the blond from the bar, sipping a drink calmly as if she sat next to skinny 16-year-olds every day. Jono looks at her questioningly. "I like my men…younger," she answers his unspoken question. "My name is Vertigo," she introduces herself. Raising an eyebrow, Jono replies, An...interesting name. She smiles. "It's not the one I was born with if that's what you're asking." She replies with a small laugh, breaking the ice. The conversation is joined.

Two hours later, they leave through the back of the club. Not sure where they're going but after the last two hours, Jono is just flowing with it. Heading down an alley, he notices that they are being followed. Not saying anything, they keep walking. Suddenly, a huge form bursts out in front of them and Jono reacts without thinking, pushing Vertigo aside and letting loose a psionic blast that sends the giant man flying. Suddenly, a _force_ hits him from the side, sending him sprawling into a wall. As he tries to get up, he hits a barrier that has sprung up around him, dropping to the ground again. Lashing out with his fire, he hears a muffled grunt as the barrier snaps but suddenly everything spins and whirls. He can't see which way is up and he can't feel which way is down. Dropping back to his knees, he vomited, the world spinning. Looking around, he spotted Vertigo looking at him and she smiled, noticing his efforts. He tried to blast at her, sending his fire in what he hoped was the right direction but the barrier knocked it back and he heard another muffled grunt. Collapsing, retching he fell to the ground and another concussive burst slammed into him as the giant and a blond man walked out of the shadows. Two dark-skinned women approached, joining Vertigo. The world spun once more and he fell into blackness.

_A Lab, _

_An Unknown Location,_

_An Unknown Time Later, _

Chamber came to. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a cage. He looked around the room, immediately focusing on Vertigo lounging on a chair a few meters away. Turning away from her deliberately, he saw the others from the alley on the other side of the room. Ignoring them as best he could, he spotted the room's final occupant. Chamber had not seen a stranger looking man in his life. Why the hell are you wearing vertical blinds on your shoulders? he asked curiously. You look absolutely ridiculous. Turning, the man smiled calmly at Chamber, readying a needle. I see you're awake, my boy" he said calmly. "I believe you've already met my dear henchpeople, the Nasty Boys. I don't think you had time for introductions though, except with Vertigo." The named woman smiled and crossed her legs on the chair. The man indicated the others, "These are Strong Guy, Slipstream, Shard and Cecilia, who refuses to have a post-human name." Chamber looked at them contemptuously. They probably need a bit more training. I just about took down all five of them, he sent. Sinister smiled. "My boy, that's exactly where you come in," he said gleefully.

_Domino's Safehouse_

_The Next Morning,_

Blink finally gathered the guts to knock on Domino's door. The woman herself opened the door looking absolutely terrifying. Her white face was even paler than normal, the black patch around a single eye making an almost terrifying contrast but the most horrific detail was the crusted tracks of dried blood trailing down from Domino's eyes. Blink jumped back afraid something had happened to Domino but when she didn't react, said, "Jono went out last night. He hasn't come back. Something has happened, it's too late for him to just have found some girl." Domino nodded. "Give me a minute," she said and the door closed. Blink sighed and went to where she had set up her own room. Visiting Domino's weapon stockpile, she began to armour up. There was something seriously wrong if Domino had already known. Blink knew she didn't sleep with her armour on.

Five minutes later, Blink and Domino dressed as inconspicuously as they could to cover their weapons and their obvious mutations, prowled around the gothic club Chamber had visited the night before. Domino said, "I can feel him. He was here last night." Blink didn't ask how she knew. No-one on the Crew knew what Domino's powers were for a reason. Leading the way out the back door, the pale woman walked down an alleyway, clearly following something. Suddenly, Domino said, "There was some kind of fight here. He did a bit of blasting. You can see the burns on the walls of the alley." Pointing to a few sooty patches. Odd gaps in the middle for some reason. Blink started, feeling the residue of another teleporter. "There was a teleport here. I'm pretty sure I can follow to the same location," she said quickly, readying her weapons. Turning to Domino, she asked, "Ready?" The pale woman nodded. Setting herself, Blink _reached_ out to the residue, feeling it. It felt…strange...different, but she could find where it went. With a brief flash, Blink and Domino vanish from the alley, leaving no trace they were ever there.

_A Lab, _

_An Unknown Location, _

The man speaking to Chamber looked up, startled by a sound no-one else could hear. "That was quick," he mused. "They're even better than I expected. Very well, deal with them, you five." He said, waving his hands at the lackeys. They five got up and walked off down the tunnels.

_Inside the Catacombs, _

_A Short Distance Away,_

Domino and Blink arrive in a brief flash, guns raised. Seeing no immediate danger, Domino whispers to Blink, "Quick penetration. In and out. If you see Jono, get him out of here and come back for me." Blink nods, eyes scanning for danger. Suddenly, a dark-skinned woman emerges from the shadows and a concussive burst hits Blink and Domino, hurling them towards the wall. Domino simply flips back, landing in a crouch aiming with her guns but Blink is faster, simply 'porting from mid-air to just behind the woman, letting her motion carry her forward, bowling the woman over. Jumping up, she pumped a tranquilizer dart into the woman's shoulder. Domino whirls at a faint sound, opening fire on the stunned teleporter who just appeared a few meters behind her. He is hit repeatedly in the chest, flying back with a crimson spray. The two intruders run through the tunnels in the direction their attackers came from. Another dark-skinned woman appears and with a wave of her hands, it feels like something clubs Domino in the gut. She drops to her knees gasping for air whilst Blink is spun off to the side, hit with a glancing blow. Blink 'ports out, reappearing in front of the woman, leaping with a kick that bounces off the woman's force field. Jumping again, Blink attacks repeatedly from many angles but the woman's force field is always there. Suddenly, Blink and the woman drop to the ground, unable to stand. A blond woman is concentrating on them but her face registers an instant of surprise as Domino shoots her twice in the head. Shooting the force field woman has no effect but Blink directs a solid blow at the same time that takes her in the back of the neck. The two women rest for a moment before setting off again but are stopped almost immediately by a giant man. He flicks a switch on his headset and says, "They have arrived, sir. All the others are down..." Suddenly Domino and Blink fly across at a wall. "Whoops, sir, it looks like Shard is still going. Probably tranq'ed. Silly of them. Expect a report shortly," he finishes. Turning to the women, he grins. Then charges straight at Blink. Tackling her before she can teleport, he begins to squeeze her to his chest in a crushing hug. Domino ran to help but was knocked flying by another concussion as the first woman advanced out from behind them. Blink struggled but the man just laughed. "You might be good, girly, but you're just making me stronger," he chuckled. Meanwhile, Domino was desperately dodging blasts and firing off shots, hoping to score a hit. Strong Guy begins to squeeze, putting huge pressure on Blink's spine, making her scream in pain. Domino fires off a sudden burst from across the room and Shard grunts as she is hit in the leg twice. She goes down and the blasts stop and Domino takes advantage, shooting her again. She whirls around and is treated to the rare spectacle of Clarice Ferguson letting loose with her powers.

Clarice is a teleporter. Plain but not quite simple. She "blinks" people or things from one place to another. In its most basic form, her power rips something from one place and sort of throws it in one direction. She spent years working on her control so the horrific accidents that happened at her manifestation would never happen again. It's still not perfect. She nearly let loose on Daredevil recently and now, when she is in danger of the same injury as Maria, she snaps. Strong Guy doesn't even have time to scream as Blink's power whips out and everything that is a part of Strong Guy is suddenly somewhere else. The mess is…considerable. Blink drops to the ground, face twisting with grief. Domino snaps out, "Let's go!" and Blink staggers to her feet, face haggard. She and Domino begin to run through the catacombs again, searching for Jono.

_The Lab, _

_Location Unknown,_

Chamber studies his captor, to all appearances a normal human albeit in bizarre costume. He watches as the man prepares surgical instruments and readies samples of some kind, carefully adding something to each one. He sets each sample aside with a sigh of satisfaction. He looks up, again apparently reacting to a sound no-one else can hear. He turns to Chamber and says "Your friends are very impressive. Very impressive indeed. I am most pleased." He whirls suddenly and a blast of energy flies from his hand towards Clarice, just entering through a side doorway. She opens a portal in front of her and the blast vanishes, reappearing behind the man and blowing a hole clear through his stomach. He doesn't seem fazed. Domino appears from another entrance, guns blazing and four more holes appear in his chest. He simply smiles. And then looks at Domino and unleashes an optic blast that knocks her flying into a wall. He turns to Clarice who 'ports out of the way just in time, reappearing on top of Chamber's cage. Chamber seizes the opportunity to unleash a blast through the bars of his cage, aimed at the samples the man has been working at for the last few hours. The man simply grins and stares at the fire. It _warps_ around and turns to him, coming to rest in a ball on the palm of his hand. He throws this at Clarice who dodges, getting clipped on the side. It's enough, though, and she collapses into convulsions. The man shrugs and his skin turns completely white, with a red diamond left on his forehead. He stretches out his arms, his shoulder joints cracking and exposing the holes in his chest and back in a hideous sight. He takes a deep breath and visibly concentrates, then watches as the holes simply….disappear. "That was very nicely done, my dears. If I had been almost anyone else, I suspect that I would have died. I am not, however, anyone else. My name, children, is Sinister. We have things to discuss."

Domino looked over at what was left of her team. Clarice had stopped convulsing and was now simply lying there showing signs of recovery. Chamber sat in the cage, furious, knowing he could do nothing against Sinister. Domino looked up at Sinister and said, "Fine. What are you offering?" The man grinned down at her sadistically. "It's not so much a deal as choices. Option A. You work for me. You do what I say when I say. You will be working with the Nasty Boys you met earlier. Option B. You die. Simple choices, children. You shouldn't need long." He smiled down at Domino, eyes sparkling with sadistic glee. Domino grunted. "Fine. Option A. Whatever. Just let me up and get him out of the damn cage." Sinister smiled. "Excellent," he said broadly. Flicking a switch, Chamber's cage was raised, letting him loose. Chamber walked over to help the recovering Clarice and tell her what was going on. Domino looked at them and then at the man who they now worked for. She wondered how their other employer was going to like this. She rather thought that she would be very very pleased indeed.

_Epilogue, _

_Elsewhere, _

A man and a woman sit in a room, deep in discussion. "Tessa, you took a risk making a hit like that. A serious risk. We can't replace you, you need to be more careful," the man says, concern colouring his voice. The woman looks directly at him, face motionless. "I discovered the agent was under the direct control of the target. He knows we're after him. He knows it's me. I'm the only person in the world in a position to hunt him, to hurt him like we are now. He doesn't know what kind of resources I have at my beck and call and he doesn't know about you. He has no more information and one less agent than previously. I have done my job, commissioner, and will continue to do my job, risks or no. If there is nothing else, Bishop…." She trails off. The man sighs wordlessly. He says, "Go on then. Please be careful. I'll be very busy over the next few weeks. We've got a major op coming up and it needs a lot of attention but for this, you know I'm always available." Turning away, the woman walks out of the room leaving the man alone. "Tessa please be careful. No-one else can do this," the man whispers to himself, before gathering his own coat and leaving the room.


	6. A Sininster Oddysey On the Left part 2

**6. A Sinister Odyssey**

**On the Left part 2**

_A SHIELD Research Facility,_

_Caracas, Venezuela, _

Inside an underground research facility buried beneath the capital of Venezuela, four figures appear. One pink, one Caucasian, one white and one brown, they split up without a word. Heading for different points, they establish a defensive perimeter whilst the white woman goes to a terminal, beginning to type rapidly. "Got it," she says quickly, inserting a disc for the data to be burnt onto. Suddenly, a SHIELD agent notices the light of the terminal screen in the supposedly deserted room and opens the door, gun at ready. Unfortunately for him, one agent isn't going to be enough. The ground spins for the man, he drops to his knees retching. Vertigo doesn't let up. Blink teleports over and knocks him out with a swift kick to the back of the head. He drops to the ground.

Still silent, she rejoins the others. Suddenly, the lights flood on and the doors burst open admitting agent after agent. Blink yells, "Domino!" and jumps into the fray, followed by Cecilia with Vertigo hanging back to afflict as many as possible. Hundreds of agents flood the room, in groups collapsing as Vertigo targets them or dropping one by one as Domino picks them off. Cecilia's force field sweeps across knocking down numerous troops while Blink jumps around picking up those avoiding the other attacks. Eventually, she opens a portal in front of the door sending every agent rushing into the room outside the facility. Soon, all the agents are down or locked out. Domino yells, "Got it! Let's go!" and Blink is about to 'port them out when a soldier jumps up and grabs at Vertigo. With a spin, her foot whirls out and the man's jaw is broken with a loud crack. Before he has time to fall, she has whipped an arm around and crushed his windpipe, leaving him choking and gurgling on the floor. Blink looks at the woman strangely. That had been _very _fast. Turning to Blink, the blond woman says, "Stop staring, it's time we were gone already.". Blink nods and in a moment, they are back in Sinister's catacombs.

_Sinister's Catacombs, _

Vertigo, Blink, Domino and Cecilia arrive back in a flash of light. They relax a little, having escaped a potentially fatal situation. Cecilia asks, "Any injuries?" but everyone shakes their head. "Alright, I'm off to do my meditation," she says before leaving. Domino says emotionlessly, "I need to take these to Sinister." Only Blink knows her well enough to detect the furious undertones to that sentence. It would be best to stay away from Domino for a while. Vertigo turns to Blink and asks, "Up for a spar?" _Blink had been struggling with Cecilia,_ '_porting rapidly to try and get around her forcefield. The woman had kept up very well for someone untrained, her power had phenomenal potential. Suddenly, everything had started to spin and whirl, the ground vanishing ad reappearing. Holding on to her balance by the tiniest of margins, Blink had looked around, searching for the source of the latest attack. A smirking blond woman stood in the corner, grinning. Her face changed to shock for an instant as she collapsed, shot in the head by Domino. _Clarice shivered. "Umm….I suppose I can," she relied hesitantly. "Lead the way.". Turning, the blond woman walked off to the training area Sinister had set up for them.

_Since being forced into joining Sinister, Domino, Clarice and Chamber had been training the Marauders daily. Chamber had stopped training and joined the trainees recently, his training with Rumlow giving him an edge but Domino decided that Sinister wasn't to know about that. So Chamber played clumsy and Blink and Domino trained the Nasty Boys. Clarice had been stunned to find them still alive, she was certain that Domino had killed at least three and she knew she had killed Strong Gu,y but they were fine. Sinister explained and it made it even more terrifying. These Nasty Boys, they were clones. Sinister had a lot of dangerous missions for them and they had suffered losses repeatedly. They were just clones. _

Blink shivered again and trailed after Vertigo towards the training area. She hoped Domino came up with something because she didn't know how much longer she could stay here.

_The Training Room, _

_Sinister's Catacombs,_

Blink dropped to the ground with a _thwack!_ Rolling to the side in a blur of motion, she only just evaded Vertigo's foot dropping like an axe onto the spot where she'd just been. This was a little more serious than a spar. Springing to her feet, she sprang forward, twisting in mid-air so the attack that seemed to be coming at Vertigo's torso hit her in the knees, whipping her feet out from under her. The blond woman dropped to the mat and tried to rise again but Clarice planted a foot on her throat to hold her down. "What do you think you were doing?" she demanded sharply. If that kick had landed it would have broken something fairly important. And it had been so _fast_. Vertigo hadn't even been capable of following Blink a week ago but now she was moving faster. It was only experience that had let Clarice survive that bout. The blond woman simply smiled and said, "Sorry, I just got a little too into it." Clarice let her up, slightly shaken. The woman had been trying to kill her. Teleporting to her own rooms, she walked around the corner to wait for Domino. They had to talk.

_The Living Quarters, _

_Sinister's Catacombs,_

Domino stalked through the corridors, as furious as she had been nearly constantly since Sinister had caught them in his trap. She whirled around the corner, hands instinctively flying up before she realised it was Clarice waiting outside her door. "What are you doing here?" she snapped instantly. "Domino we have a problem," the girl replied seriously. "I was just sparring with Vertigo and she…she moved differently. I don't know how, I don't know why. She nearly killed me. Dom, she's moving _fast. _Like Red Lotus fast. I know you don't know what happened to him, whatever you say, but this is freaking me out. We have to do something, if we keep training them and try something, we'll get beaten. Badly," she finished in a rush. Nearly panting, Clarice really did look panicked. Domino started to reply, "Clarice we..." but cut off as another figure approached. "Well, well, if it isn't my favourite girly girls having a chat. Whatcha talking about; girlies?" the giant figure asked suggestively. Domino turned to Strong Guy. "Didn't you learn last time what happens when you turn up outside my door with a suggestion like that?" she asked coldly. Strong Guy smirked and said, "Well the way I figure it, your just hidin' your real feelins, darlin'. Lets just go inside and talk about it a bit more." Clarice stared at him, completely repulsed. She still felt guilty over what had happened in the assault but that guilt was fading rapidly. He was quite possibly the most repellent person she had ever met. He advanced, trying to crowd them into the room. "Guido," Clarice began but stopped cold as Domino pulled a gun. "You disgusting person," she said coldly. Two shots later, Clarice was staring at Domino in horror and Strong Guy was lying on the floor. Not getting up. "Why…Dom, why did you…Won't Sinister…oh crap, Domino, what the hell were you thinking?" the girl demanded, stunned and angry. Sinister would kill them. He'd blow them up. Turning to Clarice, Domino calmly put the gun away. "I did the same to the last one and I'll do the same to any more that turn up outside my door. Now go away, Clarice, I'll look into it," she said coldly. Opening her door, she walked into her room. The click of the lock echoed across the corridor. Sighing, Blink turned to her own room. She needed some sleep badly. If the Nasty Boys wanted to kill her now, they'd just have to wait until she woke up. Closing her own door with a soft click, Clarice curled up on the bed. She hoped she could hold on long enough for whatever Domino was doing to work.

_Domino' Room,_

_The Catacombs, _

Domino sat on her bed in a lotus position. He's already completed the first batch of upgraded clones her mind said, speaking to someone who wasn't there. I just need the proof and then….you have to help me hold on for a few more days. If I can hold him out for just a few more days…

_Chamber's Room,_

_The Catacombs,_

Lying on his bed, Chamber studied the roof. He hated this place. It was even worse than when he was living with Cockrum. He jumped out of bed suddenly, too restless to even pretend to sleep. He pads down the corridors and halls, just generally wandered around. He passes Vertigo but doesn't acknowledge her, since the club he's refused to have anything to do with her. Passing down the halls back into the residential area of Sinister's complex, he realised he was wandering past Clarice's rooms. He ducked inside to see how the mission had gone earlier tonight.

_Blink's Rooms, _

_The Catacombs, _

She was asleep in the bed so he turned to leave when something slammed into his back, flinging him against the door. A voice asked "Jono? What the hell are you doing here?" and the pressure eased up. He turned and Clarice looked at him angrily. Well, I was coming to see how your mission went today but I think I might leave before you decide to break my arms… he sent. Blink flushed slightly, and said, "Sorry, Jono. I'm just a bit on edge. Did Domino tell you about what happened with Vertigo?" when he shook his head, she told him, "I was sparring with her today. She's moving fast. Really really really fast. I…I think Sinister has done things to the Nasty Boys, with all the cloning. He's making them better and better. _Improving _them. I don't know. I just think we need to look at it so that when we try and leave, we know what we'll be up against." She rushed out. Jono thought she might have been overreacting, that Vertigo was just getting good but….if Sinister really was improving them, that could be a serious problem. Ok, well then let's look around, Blink. If he's improving them, he needs to be getting samples of superior products from somewhere, he sent. She blinked rapidly but then looked at him, realizing he made sense. "Let's go," she said quickly.

_The Labs,_

_The Catacombs,_

Nothing here, Chamber said, turning away from the room he had been examining. Clarice turned from her own room with a sigh. "Nothing here either. Maybe I was just being paranoid but….she had been enhanced Jono. There was no other way." She said hesitantly. Turning to the last door, she found it security coded, the only one so far. "What's behind here, I wonder?" she mused aloud. She tried to 'port behind the door, but encountered a teleport blocker, locking her out. "I can't port in Jono," she said excitedly. "There has to be something here, there has to be!" Thinking, she realised something. Sinister was used to working with teleporters like Slipstream. They could take themselves, they could take people but they couldn't just send _things. _Smiling, she turned to Jono as the door vanished and reappeared leaning against a wall. Walking into the room she stopped dead in shock. "Holy Fuck!"

Chamber, meters behind Clarice walked up behind her and stopped dead. Inside the room was a scene as horrific as any he'd ever seen. Red Lotus lay strung up in what seemed like a cradle made of cables, drips coming from nearly every part of his body. What was left of his body. His legs had been removed as had one of his arms, which lay on a dissecting table on the other side of the room. Beside him, Clarice clutched her mouth in horror. "He..he..holy shit!" she stuttered out. Grabbing her arm, Chamber dragged her out of the room. She was still in shock. Clarice, put the door back, he said as though speaking to a small child. Put the door back, Clarice. In a daze, she turned and the door was returned to its place looking completely undisturbed. Now take us back to the living quarters, Clarice. Take us back there.

_Outside Domino's Rooms, _

_The Catacombs, _

A second later, they reappeared outside Domino's rooms. Clarice was starting to recover, still shivering and clutching her sides but ok. Chamber started pounding his fist on Domino's door, when suddenly, a hole burst through the centre of the door and hit him in the chest. If he had been pretty much anyone else he would have died. Blink murmured, "I forgot to warn you. We had a …confrontation with Strong Guy before. He's been harassing Domino and she…she shot him. Again. She's done it at least one other time." Turning to the door, she called, "Domino, let us in already. Stop with the guns. We need to talk." The door opened, Domino wiping something off her face. "What is it?" she barked furiously. Pushing her back into the room, Chamber barged his way past her. Clarice followed. We went poking around in Sinister's labs. We found….we found why the Nasty Boys are so improved, he sent quickly. "Wha…" she began to ask but he forced a vision of Red Lotus and his condition into her mind. She stopped talking. Turning away from them, she paced into the Spartan room, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Blink, I've trained you as well as I could against telepaths, and you too, Jono. What I tell you now, you must keep from Sinister at all costs." "He's a telepath?" Blink asked surprised. Chamber just nodded. He had known, felt Sinister trying to probe him sometimes. "Yes. Moving on," Domino snapped. "I knew something had happened to Red Lotus. I made sure word got around about the end result of our visit to the Kitchen. It was only a matter of time before whoever took Lotus realised that they needed us as well. I've been in contact with a number of people who are after Sinister for reasons of their own I think I better take you to meet them later. For now, just stay calm. It will be a few more days at most," she finished. "Stay calm. I've got another meeting tomorrow night. You can come along."

_The Next Night, _

_A Deserted Alley near one of the Catacombs Entrances,_

Domino, Blink and Chamber 'ported into the alley. Finding it deserted, they silently made themselves as unobtrusive as possible, sliding into the shadows. A moment later, two people made their way down the alley. The first, a large man with dark skin, walked confidently while the second, a Caucasian woman with purple hair, _strutted _along beside him. "Domino," the man says. "I did not tell you to bring the whole family." Turning to the woman, he asks quietly, "Any more than the three of them?" Domino answers calmly, "There are only three of us here, Lucas. Now calm down and get those shapeshifters to stop pretending they're garbage bins." Turning, she looked sternly at the corner where two garbage bins sat, suddenly melting to reveal two people, one a woman with a white streak through her hair, the other a man who looked completely white for a moment before sliding into plain features and normal skin tone. Blink didn't bat an eyelid but Chamber's face gave away his surprise. Turning to Domino, Blink asked, "Is this who I think it is?" Domino's face did not change. "It is!" Clarice snapped. "It's the bloody Mutant Underground!"


	7. Underground On the Left part 3

**7. Underground**

**On the Left part 3**

_A Deserted Alley near one of the Catacombs Entrances,_

Seven people stood in an alleyway, four surrounding the other three in a loose circle. The who? Chamber asked as Clarice ranted to herself, Domino looked on angrily and the strangers looked faintly amused.

Domino turned to Chamber and answered, The Mutant Underground are a group of mutants who have taken it upon themselves to 'rid the world of criminal mutants' and fight the good fight and so on. Sort of like the X-men except with guns and knives and more bad guy death."

Clarice spun around and said, "Great plan, Domino! Fantastic plan! Get the mutant cops involved!"

Spinning suddenly, Domino landed a blow on Clarice's face with a fist, knocking her to the ground and stopping her furious ranting. "Shut up, Clarice. They're going to help us take down Sinister and that's all I'm interested in." Turning back to the man whose amused expression had faded with the blow, Domino said, "When, Bishop? I can't hold him out too much longer, they won't be able to hold him out at all."

The man looked at her sternly. "You've jeopardised this whole operation, Domino," he said sharply. "What were you thinking?" he demanded angrily.

Domino said precisely, "I was thinking that they found Red Lotus. Do you think bringing them here was justified now, Bishop?"

The purple-haired woman said in a British accent, "Enough. If they found Lotus, it was necessary. Where is he being kept?" she asked Clarice. Blink sneered up at the British woman from the ground.

Domino sighed. "Chamber?" she asked questioningly.

Huh? he asked. Oh, Sinister is keeping him in the back room of one of the labs, he sent, turning away from the shape shifters. Blink smacked her hand on his leg. OW! What the bloody hell did you do that for? he demanded angrily.

"That was our only leverage, you moron. Domino has probably bought her way out with her help but we've got nothing!" she snapped.

The black man cleared his throat. "Your independence was one of the conditions of Domino's working with us," he said clearly. "Now, is this argument really necessary? We have bigger fish to fry."

Domino turned to face him again sharply. "There's a problem. Sinister has one of his little missions for us next week. All of us, Nasty Boys and these two. There are some mutants and hobos, living in the tunnels near the catacombs. Sinister wants them gone, claims they are pressing in too close to the catacomb system. No survivors."

"Shit," Bishop swore quickly. He was about to continue but the British woman said, "This is perfect. The Nasty Boys can be taken out quickly and then we can follow up with the strike at Sinister."

Bishop turned to her. "Betsy…it's risky."

She looked at him, pensive. "It will also give us an opportunity to get her out," she said quietly.

Bishop sighed. "Ok. This isn't going anywhere and the longer she's down there the more he's getting out of her. So next week, we do this." Turning to Blink and Chamber, he said, "You two screw this up…."

Chamber wished he could gulp but Blink just laughed bitterly. "I've been living in those tunnels for as long as Domino, you think you're scary?"

_Domino's Quarters_

_The Catacombs,_

"What Bishop said is right. You two crack and you'll wish Sinister had you," Domino said harshly. "He probably won't keep probing you but if you feel anything, you know what I taught you."

Blink stared at Domino. "What was the rest of your price, Domino?" she asked quietly. "I'm not going to screw this up but I want to know what's at stake." Domino turned to Clarice, looking her squarely in the face. Then she unleashed a blow that knocked Clarice to the floor for the second time that night.. Blink sprang back up, about to launch herself at Domino when Chamber stepped between them.

What the hell are you two playing at? he demanded angrily. If you two want to kill each other that's fine, but you wait out the week here. I'm not getting killed because you two crazy broads have issues you need to work out. he sent angrily. Sort it out after this is over! Blink turned away, 'porting out after a second. Chamber hoped she went to her own quarters. Turning to Domino, he sent, What the hell was that? What's up with you lately, you knock people down or worse at the faintest provocation? Are you crazy?

Domino snarled at him, "Get out, Chamber. I'll see you next week." Physically forcing him out the door, Domino sat on her bed once more in the lotus position.

_The Catacombs,_

The next week passed filled with tension. The Nasty Boys continued to grow in speed and skill. It was obvious that something had been done to them by now. The Crew said nothing. Training continued with no change except that Domino refused to come out of her room. Sinister lost three more Strong Guy clones to her anger, her bedroom door was getting filled with holes. Blink rarely came out except to attend training, where she was unfocused and was often defeated by the Nasty Boys. Chamber had a hard time keeping up with them in the no-powers sessions and with powers was often even more dangerous. Vertigo in particular took great delight in flooring him, something he refused to acknowledge.

Six days after the meeting with the Mutant Underground, Sinister came to one of the training sessions. "Tomorrow we have a mission. Some repellent sewer dwelling creatures, mutant and human, have been encroaching on the Catacombs. I don't want them in here and I don't want word spreading. You are to eliminate them. No survivors." Turning, he strode out leaving Chamber and Blink staring after him.

Vertigo and the current Strong Guy simply resumed training, Shard looked sad but also returned to her work with Slipstream. Cecilia looked horrified, sitting out of the next session. The time was fast approaching and the tension in the atmosphere was as thick as fog.

The morning of the mission, Domino emerged from her room, cold-eyed as ever. Staring down everyone except the current Strong Guy, she began a slow warm up. Blink and Chamber joined her in silence. Sinister arrived and said, "Good. You leave in ten minutes." Everyone looked at each other, Vertigo yawning.

"Oh well, there goes my morning nap," she said petulantly. "I'm going to get some coffee first." Chamber stared at her. The woman was repulsive. Turning, Blink, Chamber and Domino strode off, walking directly to Slipstream's designated telepad. He was to do the 'porting for this mission, having been to the site before. The Nasty Boys arrived slowly, trickling in.

Vertigo was the last to arrive. "Shall we go?" she asked as she strode in.

Slipstream nodded impatiently. "Let' s go."

_The Sewers,_

_The Edge of the Catacombs,_

They materialised with a slight noise, almost the _sloshing_ of a wave hitting shore. Splitting up immediately, Vertigo, Strong Guy, Slipstream and Shard headed in one direction and Domino, Blink, Chamber and Cecilia headed in the other. There was a lot of sewer to cover. Heading directly to the designated meeting point, Blink was glad they had Cecilia with them. She was both the most dangerous of the Nasty Boys and the most likely to crack under pressure.

Turning the corner, she noticed a larger than usual piece of debris caught in a grate near the rendezvous. She hoped the shape shifter was ready. Passing the next turn, they caught sight of Bishop and Betsy, the British woman.

Cecilia clicked on to what was happening in an instant; she wasn't stupid. Hurling a force field in front of her pushing the Crew and the Underground officers back, she turned to run before being caught by the woman with the white streak. "Please," she whimpered. "I don't want to. He….he…he has my daughter…" Turning back to Bishop, obviously the commander, she begged, "Get her away from him and I'll help you. Please."

Bishop said to woman with the white streak in her hair "Rogue. Check if she's telling the truth."

The woman said to Cecilia, "This will feel a bit strange. It won't cause permanent damage though." She reached out, grabbing the bare flesh of Cecilia's arm with her palm. Cecilia started to shake uncontrollably, while the woman shivered. "She's telling the truth, Lucas," she said. "She's terrified, she misses her daughter and with her power, I rather suspect she could just about take you down so we might want to do what she wants," she advised.

Cecilia had regained control and her self-confidence had begun to return. "Please," she begged, a note of pleading in her voice.

Bishop rubbed his face, thinking. "Ok. Deal. We get your daughter out after you assist in the prevention of the Nasty Boy's mission. You try anything and pretty much everyone on this squad will cut you into tiny pieces. Understand?" She nodded. "Good." Turning to Blink, Chamber and Domino, he said, "I think I need to let you know about our squad. This is Psylocke," he said, indicating the purple-haired woman. "Telekintetic. This is Rogue, she absorbs memories and powers. You passed Morph on the way in, shape shifter." Indicating the two new people behind him, he said, "This is Shadowcat, phasing, and Multiple Man. Duplicates." The indicated two nodded distantly. "Now move, people, we don't have a lot of time."

Blink said, "I can take you as far as the drop-off point."

Bishop said, "I know. Do it, now." A moment later, they were at the drop off point, the Mutant Underground instantly on alert.

_The Sewers,_

_Near the Catacombs,_

The Nasty Boys approached the sewer dwellers. "Who's there?" a voice called out warily. No-one replied. Peering into the corridor, the homeless man suddenly bowled back, slamming into the wall behind him. As Slipstream walked past, he shot the man in the chest. The Massacre had begun.

Hearing the blast, Bishop snapped out "Faster!" to the group and they began to jog. Hearing the shot, they began to run without an order. Passing the body, Shadowcat peeled off for a moment, checking for vital signs. She returned shaking her head. Growling, Bishop led the way deeper into the sewers. Running on, they passed bodies in increasing numbers. Stopping, Bishop said, "There are four people out here, killing people. There are ten of us but we can't just catch them one by one. We have to split up. Betsy, you and Domino are out that way. Rogue, you and Blink out that way. Morph, you and Multiple Man take the kid and head out that way. Kitty you and Cecilia are with me. Understood? Good." Each team left, heading out into the sewers following the trails of bodies.

_Betsy and Domino,_

_The Sewers,_

Heading down their designated path in silence, the telepath and the mercenary tracked the Nasty Boy down the corridor. It wasn't hard to guess which one was down here. There was a great deal of damage to the bodies. Rounding a corner, they suddenly came upon Strong Guy launching himself at the only living man in sight. Betsy instinctively lashed out with her telekinesis, sending Strong Guy flying against the wall. Absorbing the kinetic energy from impact, Strong Guy's size increased and he turned to charge at the two women with a roar.

Betsy threw herself off to the side but Domino stood her ground, pulling out two pistols. Opening fire, she shot Strong Guy four times before he had taken two steps and he dropped to the ground, two holes where his kneecaps had been. Two more damaging holes filled his chest. He groaned aloud as Betsy jumped up from where she had landed, walking slowly over. Next to Strong Guy she announced, "Guido Carrosella, you are under arrest for the crime of terrorism and crimes against humanity. You know your rights. You…" she began but was cut off as Domino unleashed a short burst of bullets directly into Strong Guy's forehead.

Jumping back managing to avoid most of the blood spray, Betsy demanded, "What the hell are you doing? We are not supposed to kill them except where necessary! You'd already made sure he wasn't getting away!"

Domino ignored the tirade, holstering her guns and walking on. "There are three more Nasty Boys out here," she said, not looking back. "I intend that they do not leave these sewers alive." Walking off, Domino vanished down the tunnel. Betsy sighed. She was hardly upset about the death of a piece of filth like Strong Guy but that had been murder. She would have to talk with Bishop. Something would have to be done about Domino. Following down the corridor past the remains of Strong Guy, Betsy thought that something would have to be done soon about Domino. Very soon.

_Morph, Multiple Man and Chamber, _

_The Sewers,_

The three guys jogged down the corridor, eyes alert. Suddenly, ahead they heard shots fired. Breaking into a run, they saw Vertigo in the distance using a rifle to finish off the people who lay retching on the ground.

Revolted, Chamber unleashed his pent up anger at Vertigo in a huge blast that blew towards the blond woman. She saw and bolted, running around a corner before she could get hit. The blast flew down the corridor, smashing into the supports at the end near the turn. Some small debris collapsed onto the guys but Multiple Man only created duplicates and Morph simply covered Chamber.

Running through the small amount of rubble, the three turned the corner where Vertigo mowed down two dupes and Morph in a vicious spray of bullets. Her second attack, a wave of nausea, doubled Chamber and the dupes up on the ground, desperately trying to focus. Chamber was wary of another blast after the last one but Morph flung the bullets that had been shot into him back, having managed to elasticise his skin in time. Vertigo was clipped in the side, concentration slipping as did the nausea afflicting Multiple Man and Chamber.

Multiple Man gasped out, "More dupes, help me." Jono sent, How? but Morph acted, punching Multiple Man in the shoulder over and over. Each time, a duplicate was produced and eventually, they could all stand up, dividing the vertigo between them. "We have to hurry," Morph said, urging them up. The three began to run after Vertigo once more.

_Rogue and Blink_

_The Sewers_

Rogue and Blink ran down the corridor. There were fewer bodies down their route; it looked like Slipstream had been 'porting out the mess he left behind. This meant his progress had been slower than the others, leaving more survivors.

Turning the corner, they saw Slipstream crouching over a body. With a small sound, it vanished and he stood up. Blink nudged Rogue indicating that she would go ahead and before Rogue had nodded, Blink had gone. Arriving behind and above Slipstream, she unleashed a vicious kick to the back of the head that only his enhanced reflexes allowed him to dodge. Spinning inhumanly fast, his leg whirled out but Blink had already moved on, reappearing around the side to jam in an elbow. 'Porting over and over, dodging nearly every blow, Blink and Slipstream whirled around each other in a flurry of motion, following the other's every 'port. Rogue arrived but was incapable of doing anything, they were simply moving too fast.

Blink whirled around, lashing a leg towards Slipstream's ankles, which he 'ported himself above, directly into Blink's other leg, spinning around in a kick that lifted her off the ground, slamming into his side like an axe. He shouted in pain as ribs snapped audibly and he hit the ground whimpering. He 'ported down the corridor but Blink followed, a foot to the ribs hurting him too much to let him even think of 'porting. Rogue chased them down shortly after, slamming a pair of inhibitor-cuffs onto him. "Davis Cameron, you are under arrest for murder, crimes against humanity and various other offences. You know your rights…"

_Bishop, Cecilia and Shadowcat,_

_The Sewers,_

Running down the tunnels, the three people passed an incredible amount of devastation. _This_ made Cecilia truly understand how people could hate mutants. One person shouldn't be able to cause this much damage.

Turning a corner, they ran directly into Shard, standing calmly waiting for them. "You really need to be more careful, Lucas," Shard said in a strangely monotone voice. "I've been aware your little gang was following for some time." She said when suddenly a blast ripped out in front of her. Cecilia threw up her strongest shield in front of herself and Shadowcat but couldn't extend it to cover Bishop too.

Looking over expecting him to fly backwards, she was stunned to see him standing whole and unbudged. "You're slipping, _Shard,_" he said sharply. "That was pathetic." His hand came up and a beam of energy blasted out hitting Shard in the chest, sending her flying backwards. Running over, Cecilia and Shadowcat began to check for vital signs when Shard's hands came up and Cecilia barely had a moment to think before the blast ripped out of them. Cecilia's instantaneous reaction shielded herself but she wasn't fast enough to protect Shadowcat from the blast, the woman flying backwards to slam into the wall with a sickening _thunk. _Cecilia whipped her shield forward, slamming it into Shard, knocking the woman back to the floor.

Shard rolled with the blow, coming to her feet hands out to unleash another furious blast. Cecilia shielded herself again, feeling the pressure. She couldn't stand up to much more of this. Forming a club, Cecilia slammed Shard in the stomach, winding the woman. Shard grunted and curled into a ball standing up, still lifting her hands and blasting again. Cecilia felt the impact on the shield, sending her flying back, unable to resist the movement. She landed, not hurt by the blast and only bruised by the landing. She tried to climb to her feet but Bishop moved past her, ignoring the blasts directed at him by Shard.

Throwing himself forward, he unleashed another energy blast, this one much brighter and hotter. Shard was slammed backward, head bouncing off the wall. She dropped to the ground and didn't move. Cecilia panted in the sudden silence of the corridor, looking over at Lucas. He had walked over to Shard and now smoothed her hair back tenderly. "You'll be ok kid, it's over now. You've done so much."

Climbing to her feet, she walked over to Shadowcat. The woman was unconscious but alive, nothing seemingly broken. Cecilia sat down, exhausted. She hoped the other teams had stopped them before too many died.

_Morph, Multiple Man and Chamber, _

_The Sewers,_

The three guys ran. News of the other teams' success coming ober their headsets only spurred the on. They had to catch Vertigo. Chamber pushed himself harder. They had to get her. _He_ had to get her. Rounding a corner, Chamber suddenly realised they were on the edges of Sinister's laboratories.

Too late, he tried to stop and back out but a wave of vertigo hit him and the others, nausea dropping him to his knees. Retching, he desperately struggled for control, feeling rather than seeing Morph hit the ground beside him. Multiple Man split himself into dupe after dupe, spreading the sensation among them. He threw himself at Vertigo but she easily dodged the first, second and third dupes, backing away from the others. Suddenly, three of the dupes were picked up by a ruby energy blast that slammed them into the wall with sickening _thunks._ Chamber looked over to see Sinister standing on the other side of the lab.

Vertigo's concentration broken, Morph jumped up, growing spikes and blades everywhere. He flew at Sinister and hit him over and over, cutting holes in the bizarre armour the man wore and smashing him with enormous blows. Sinister just grinned and unleashed an energy blast that sent Morph flying back into some lab equipment which broke with a _smash._ Multiple Man was sending dupe after dupe towards Sinister but either he or Vertigo was taking them down as quickly as they were made. One of the dupes paused and radioed through the headsets, "Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" before being taken down by a well-placed shot from Vertigo. Chamber sent his largest blast towards the two, not caring about structural damage. The huge psionic fireball flew towards the pair but Sinister laughed out loud before catching it, shrinking it slightly and throwing it back at Chamber. Chamber dodged, pulling a dupe out of the way. He hoped someone got here soon because they couldn't hold out much longer.

_Domino and Betsy,_

_The Sewers_

"_Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" _Jaime's voice crackled over Betsy's headset. She and Domino immediately broke into a run directly towards the labs. She hoped they weren't too late.

_Blink and Rogue_

_The Sewers_

"_Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" _Blink and Rogue turned as one, Rogue immediately said, "Go, I'll look after this guy." Blink nodded and vanished. Rogue continued to carry Slipstream towards the labs.

_Bishop, Cecilia and Shadowcat_

_The Sewers_

"_Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" _The call came across Bishop's radio, but he was too busy with Shard. Cecilia had Shadowcat but he cradled Shard's head and said, "You're ok now. You did good kid, real good."

_The Lab,_

_The Catacombs,_

Chamber threw himself aside, dodging another blast from Sinister. He sent a small blast towards Vertigo, hoping to at least burn her, but she just leant aside and sent a wave of disorientation towards him. He steeled himself, rolling desperately to escape the inevitable follow up from Sinister.

A ruby blast annihilated the table behind him, missing him by inches. Sinister chuckled out loud, blasting some more Multiple Man duplicates. Suddenly, Blink appeared in the lab and threw herself backwards instantly to escape Sinister's vicious reaction to her presence. She opened a portal, sending the blast into his back but his self-healing took care of that. She 'ported Chamber out to the corridor, grabbing as many Multiple Men as she could too. Sinister kept up a steady rain of blasts, holding them in the corridor.

Domino and Betsy skidded around the corner, running to reach the group outside the entry to the lab. Assessing the situation almost instantaneously, Domino threw herself through the door, miraculously evading every blast and opened fire on Sinister. Vertigo hid behind a table, already clipped with a shot and not wanting to get hit again. Sinister just laughed and laughed as Domino shot him over and over again.

In the corridor, Betsy turned to Blink and demanded, "Can you get me in there, just over that table?" Blink nodded and Betsy vanished, a pink glowing blade manifesting in her hands. Swiping, she cut through the table and hit Vertigo, sending her into convulsions. Turning, she rolled out of the path of another of Sinister's blasts, allowing Domino time to get in more shots. Letting the knife go, Psylocke simply flat out blasted the whole area in front of her, Sinister, Vertigo, table, everything and watched it fly back into the wall behind.

Sinister got up, grin gone. "Ahhh, Ms. Braddock. Such an exquisite specimen. It's almost a pity we have to go." With a brief smile and a wave for Domino, he reached inside his armour, pulling out a device. Domino opened fire on his hands with a scream of rage, recognizing the teleporter but Sinister flicked the switch and he and Vertigo disappeared, leaving the ruins of the lab and hundreds of dead duplicates. Betsy sighed. This had not gone perfectly.

_The Lab,_

_Hours later_

Bishop had emerged from the depths of the sewers some time ago. He had been carrying Shard in his arms, Cecilia helping a woozy Shadowcat along beside. Arriving at the lab, they were met with a medical team whom Bishop instructed to restrain Shard "as gently as possible." Much to Blink and Chamber's puzzlement. Cecilia joined them in the aftermath, the Mutant Underground medical teams tending Chamber for minor burns and Blink for a few bruises. Searching through the wreckage, she found the chamber where her daughter had been kept.

Bursting the door open with a field, she found the revolting pod that _bastard_ had kept her daughter in. Finding the controls, she made a shield to pull an Underground tech worker over to her. "Get her out now!" she demanded. The man, after checking with Bishop, examined the panel for a few moments, before tapping a few buttons. The pod opened, the small girl inside opening her eyes. "M..m…mummy?" she asked weakly. With a cry Cecilia scooped her up, crying openly. "It's ok, baby, Mummy's here now," she whispered over and over again. She clutched her daughter and mouthed the words "Thank you" to Bishop over the crowd.

Bishop smiled quietly and turned back to the medical team attending as many duplicates as possible. Morph was being loaded onto a stretcher but with his physiology he would be back in no time. Domino sat off to one side, watching expressionlessly as Red Lotus was loaded onto a stretcher. What had been done to that boy….Bishop shuddered. That was one more mark against Sinister.

Looking back to Domino, he thought about what Betsy had whispered to him before. Domino was possessed of the kind of mental walls it took years and the help of a skilled telepath to construct. There was no way Sinister was getting in through those. One more problem.

Looking over, Bishop saw Blink watching Red Lotus, shivering, face twisted with grief. Chamber stood beside her, somehow communicating his grief without a face. Bishop hoped those two could get out of the business, for a number of reasons. It was a terrible thing for children to do but it was a terrible world. More dangerously, if they continued with Domino, they would no doubt sooner or later irritate the wrong people and the Underground would be hunting them down.

If it came to that though, Bishop was worried about how many people he would lose. They would go down and they would go down hard but they'd take a lot of people with them and that wasn't something that the MU could afford. Sighing, he watched as Slipstream was loaded into the prisoner truck, fitted with teleportation lock and as resistant a set of walls as possible to allow it to still move. He would be either rehabilitated with the aid of a psychic or jailed for the interim. Bishop didn't know and at the moment, he didn't care.

He looked over to the ambulance where Shard was resting. That girl had done a fantastic job. He wondered if anyone of The Crew or Cecilia had figured it out. She had been the MU's first attempt to penetrate Sinister's network, proving very successful at first. The information had been invaluable. In fact, it had been so useful that Sinister noticed and suspected. He caught Shard but instead of killing her, he'd brainwashed her. Near complete. Bishop sighed. The months of intensive and delicate psychic surgery ahead for Shard would not be pleasant. "Good luck, Sis," Bishop said quietly as the ambulances rolled away.

_The Mercy Hospital_

_New York_

"Patient Maria Callasantos?" a voice asked. Laverne looked up. "Yes, can I help you?" she asked politely. "I'm here with a transfer order for Maria Callasantos, coma patient with severe injuries," the man said patiently. "Very well," Laverne said quietly after looking over the order. "This way," she indicated, the man waving his team forward.

_The Xavier Institute_

_Westchester,_

Shortly afterwards, the private medical vehicle pulled up outside the Xavier Institute, where the patient Maria Callasantos was unloaded and taken to a room with a view. Inside, Domino watched the transfer emotionlessly and Bishop watched Domino.


	8. Falling From Heaven Twixt Heaven and Hel

**8. Falling From Heaven**

**Unknown Part 1**

_Alphabet City_

_New York_

Jean-Paul Beaubier came too. He was lying in a pile of garbage, a rat sitting on his foot. With a weak shout, he kicked his leg, sending the filthy thing flying off into the alley. He dropped his head back to the garbage bag behind him, exhausted. The sweet smell of the trash was revolting him, his stomach rebelling. Flipping himself over, he crawled a few meters forward before vomiting noisily on the ground. Wiping his mouth, he climbed up and set out. He hadn't had a fix in two days.

On his way, Jean-Paul saw a man walking along the street, cleaner and richer looking than the majority of the people who lived here. Jean-Paul glanced around and finding the street deserted, sped over to the man pulling him into an alleyway. A few quick blows and the man was unconscious, moments later Jean-Paul had taken his wallet and watch and left him lying in the alley. Setting out once more, he continued towards his destination.

Arriving at his destination, a non-descript building, Jean-Paul walked inside. Ignoring the muscular men who were there to stop trouble, he entered a room one floor up, stopping when he saw his target was already talking with someone. He waited calmly, the two men in front of him having a heated argument. "But Sharples..." one of the men whined. He had a face like a weasel.

The other faced him, speaking sharply and angrily. "No, Hennesey, you had your chance. You still owe me the three thousand by Monday….otherwise…." he finished by snapping his mouth shut, exposing his elongated and sharpened teeth.

The weasely man flinched at the sound, nodding hurriedly. "O..of course, Sharples. Whatever you want," he said quickly before practically running from the room.

Turning to Jean-Paul, Sharples ground his teeth angrily. "Some people think I'm playing around," he said angrily. "This is not a joking matter. What do you want anyway?" he demanded. Jean-Paul ignored his anger, holding up some of the money he had stolen before. Sharples looked at it greedily. "Good," he said, going over to a cupboard and pulling out a small bag of white powder. "You can use the room down the hall like normal." He said, waving towards the door. Jean-Paul threw the wad of money at him, and, grabbing the bag, he was gone out the door before the cash hit the ground.

Down the hall, Jean-Paul went to the room he normally used and found it free. Going to the cupboard on the wall, he removed a strap, a syringe in a sealed packet, a spoon and a lighter. Moving quicker than a normal person, excitement making his control slippery, he poured a small amount of the powder onto the spoon, holding the lighter under it, watching it melt. Smelling the fumes, he sighed. _Soon_. Ripping open the syringe, he poured the bubbling liquid from the spoon into the chamber, sealing it carefully. Fumbling, he set it on the table and quickly tied the strap around his arm with a practiced ease. He pulled it tight, making the veins of his forearm stand out blue and angry. Track marks from previous hits dotted his arms, flaking scabs in some places and red sores in others. Finding a clear patch, he jabbed the needle in and pressed down, shooting himself to heaven. Collapsing in bliss, barely managing to remember to pull out the needle and undo the strap, he collapsed back, lying on the floor. He remained there, barely capable to move, not reacting to the shots fired downstairs, nor to the door bursting in. When hands lifted him up by the arms though, the room began to spin and he began to scream.

_Oak Lakes Rehabilitation Centre, _

_Two months later…_

Jean-Paul woke up in his room. The government had sent him here, after his arrest in Sharples' house, too high to try and get away from the cops or even think about using his powers, and for two months, he'd been trying to clean up. He was improving. He wasn't even strapped to the bed anymore. The first few days hadn't been too bad. At least he was clean now. But then the withdrawal set in. They had strapped him to the bed when they caught him. He also hadn't had a fix since his arrest. He was proud. He had gained a measure of self-respect but he wasn't sure that he wouldn't end up in exactly the same place he had before if he was let out.

"Jean-Paul?" One of the nurses poked her head in the door. "You have a visitor." Thanking her, he wondered who it could be for a moment before wandering down to the lobby where visitors waited.

The only person there who wasn't a nurse or a patient was a large black man. "Jean-Paul Beaubier?" he asked quietly. Jean-Paul nodded and the man led him to one of the couches set in the lobby for this very purpose. Sitting down, he got straight to the point. "My name is Lucas Bishop. I'm a member of an organization known as the Mutant Underground. I'm here to speak to you about the opportunities we offer to new recruits."

Jean-Paul looked at the man like he was crazy. "You do know this is a rehab center?" he asked quickly. "You do know that I'm here because I was arrested in a crack house so high I couldn't even get away from the cops?" The man nodded. "Then if I'm the best you can go after, the MU must be slipping. Badly," he said sharply.

Bishop just smiled at him and said, "On the contrary, Mr Beaubier. You will find that we are aware of a good bit of your history. The accounts we have of your time with the Crew, including some eyewitness testimony, demonstrate your disgust at what your addiction forced you into. We also understand why you stayed with the Crew." Jean-Paul looked at him sharply. The man responded to his unasked question. "After the incidents involving the Kingpin and Daredevil," he began. Jean-Paul kept his face calm but shivered, remembering the echoing snap of Maria's spine, the thud of his fists as he beat Daredevil. "After the incident, the Crew ended up involved with a man named Sinister. Domino approached us with the offer to capture him and as he is high on our most wanted list, we agreed.

"Enduring some fairly dangerous undercover work, Domino, Blink and Chamber performed very well in the assault on Sinister's complex. The man himself escaped but a great deal of information was gained from his lab. But that's not the point. It was from Blink and Chamber who cooperated with our debriefing teams after the incident that we received our eyewitness testimony about your opinions of what you were doing. Our own analysts, hell, even I can see why you stayed as long as you did. The Crew remained with us a few days but they left shortly after. They've only appeared on our radar briefly during the interval. We tracked you down when your arrest came to our attention but we left you for a few months," the man finished.

Jean-Paul stared at him. "What do you want with me?" he asked. "You're clearly aware that I've committed crimes but you obviously aren't here to arrest me," he said.

Bishop smiled. "I don't think you understand how hard it is to train officers for this kind of industry, Jean-Paul. When someone is trained like you are, through experience, we aren't going to let them waste away in rehab. You needed to be here to clean up and if you join you'll have to stay clean but we want you as an agent. Think of it as a way to make amends."

Jean-Paul's mind was spinning. He opened his mouth to respond but Bishop spoke up again. "How could I forget to mention Maria?" Jean-Paul's mouth snapped shut with a click. "She is currently in a private medical facility at the Xavier Institute, under the control of the MU. That, along with the required medical care for Red Lotus who suffered a great deal of medical abuse when he abandoned the Crew for Sinister, she is receiving the best of care."

Jean-Paul spoke up slowly. "If I joined you…." he began. "What kind of work would I be doing? My past experiences with the MU haven't been the most pleasant, you understand." Bishop smiled.

_The Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

_Some Distance from New York Proper,_

His first day. Jean-Paul hated first days. As far as he knew, everyone hated first days. Meeting new people, wondering if they'd been told about his circumstances. He had arrived at the facility a few minutes before, landing on the discrete flyer-pad on the roof of the largest building in the large complex. He hoped he didn't get lost.

Walking in the small door, he was met in front of security by a Puerto Rican woman. "My name is Cecilia Reyes." She introduced herself.

"Jean-Paul Beaubier," he replied, shaking an outstretched hand. "I'm here to take you through security and give you a quick tour," she said pleasantly. "I'm fairly new here myself. In about half an hour, you have a certification class with one of the combat instructors." She smiled when Jean-Paul snorted. "Yeah, I doubt you need it but it's compulsory for your certification. You need to have it before you can go out in the field.," she replied but noticed the twitch of his head when she referred to his past.

"I should probably explain something before we get started. I know something of your situation," she said and his heart sunk. So much for the fresh start he'd hoped for. She continued, "No-one else on the facility has been told. I'm aware because I was with Blink and Chamber during the Sinister incident and after when we were all locked up in here with the debriefers."

Jean-Paul had to stop himself breathing a great sigh of relief that she didn't know where he had been the last three months. "When do we have to be at this fighting certification you mentioned?" he asked, adroitly changing the subject.

Looking at her watch, Cecilia gasped, "My god, how late were you? We have about 2 minutes and it's not a short trip!" Grinning, Jean-Paul motioned to her to lead the way.

_The Training Room,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Walking in a few minutes late, Jean-Paul and Cecilia, attracted almost no attention. The instructor walked to the middle of the mats. "Good morning all, now sit down and shut the hell up," she announced in a British accent. "Today we have a new student, so the compulsory humiliation is in order. Come on down, Jean-Paul."

Smiling at Cecilia's quick whisper of encouragement, he walked over to the mats through the small crowd of trainees. He reaches the mats and the purple haired woman looked him up and down. "My name is Betsy Braddock, Jean-Paul," she introduces herself. Suddenly, her leg whips out in a vicious kick which he manages to dodge.

"Charmed, I'm sure," he replies loftily. "Powers or no?"

Flash of a startlingly feral grin. "Of course powers. Where's the fun without?" she replies as a solid wall of something sends him spinning to the other side of the mats. He never lands, recovering whilst still in the air and he speeds forward, arriving behind her as she begins to turn. Pushing forward, he hooks a leg around her feet and drops her to the mats. She lands in a roll, coming up smoothly to face him. With a peculiar stretching motion, she reached out with a punch that he docked and ran around behind her but was nearly caught in the stomach by her leg that had curled around behind her in a kick as she punched. Grabbing her leg, he whirled in a circle loosing her towards the opposite corner of the mats. Hands dropping out to catch the mat as she whirled, she was visibly steadied by nothing and thrown forward, a pink sword manifesting from nowhere.

Jean-Paul threw himself backwards to avoid a blow that sliced through the mats, then lifted off to avoid a leg sweep that would have rendered him unable to father children had it connected. He hovered above her, when suddenly a force pulled him ground-wards. Instantly reacting, he used one of his favourite tricks. Instead of resisting the force, he simply aimed himself at the woman and flew directly at her as fast as he could. He was not far away so he didn't have time to gain enough speed to hurt her and she went flying before she could even stop pushing him with the telekinesis. Betsy was knocked into the ground with a good deal of force and while she climbed to her feet, she made no move to attack.

"Well, Mr. Beaubier, it does indeed look like you're good enough. I'll sign the certification after this class." Turning back to the pupils she said, "I want you to note the way Mr. Beaubier reacted to my telekinesis at the end; instead of trying to resist it, he used it against me. That is a very good tactic…"

Jean-Paul floated over to Cecilia. "Well done," she said. "It took me at least twice as long to knock the woman down." Jean-Paul looked at her doubtfully; she wasn't a particularly muscular woman and he wondered how she'd managed Betsy's telepathy but she continued on. "We have a meeting with Bishop now. You're being placed on a squad straight away," she told him. Surprised, Jean-Paul blinked. "Right away? I expected much more bureaucratic stalling" he said. (ok, maybe wrong word but I'm suffering from mental blanks here). "Lead the way."

_Bishop's Office,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

"You are to work with him under Shard as your commander," Jean-Paul heard as he entered the room, Cecilia following in and closing the door behind her. Inside there were three people, two women and a man. Bishop waved them to the empty seats. "Jean-Paul, Cecilia, sit down," he said. "These are the people you'll be working with. This is Monet," he said, indicating the younger woman with very dark skin. "She's got a good balance of powers, flight, invulernability to a limited degree, but she's also got basic telepathy. Nothing phenomenal but enough. This is Morph," he said indicating the pale man. "He's a shapeshifter. Non-human and limited moving parts. Cecilia, I believe you already know Shard. She is capable of firing concussive bursts and projecting solid light holograms," he finished.

Jean-Paul nodded to each of them, noticing Cecilia's face had frozen up when Bishop mentioned they would be working with Shard. Clearly some issues there. Bishop said, "I'll let you get to know each other in a minute. You can go but I just need a moment with Jean-Paul and Cecilia." The others filed out obediently, nodding as they passed the remaining two. Bishop said, "We need to discuss Shard."

Cecilia snapped, "Yes, we do. I can't believe your using her on a squad! I know you were trying to rehabilitate her or something but..."

Bishop stared at her coldly. "Shard is a Mutant Underground agent who was on deepcover work. With Sinister. Unfortunately, she was exposed and conditioned for loyalty. Retaining both that loyalty and her original personality would mean she would end up doing things she found repellent. This meant our psi division had to recondition her. She is the same person she was originally. Just…I need you two to keep an eye on her. Make sure the deprogramming sticks. There shouldn't be incidents but…" Bishop trailed off. Then, refocusing, he said, "Cecilia, please treat her the same. I know your circumstances are difficult but this squad needs to function as a squad. It can't afford to have dissension in the ranks. I won't be assigning you to a specific target at first, you'll just serve as a backup team for some of the other squads. When that happens, you're under the command of the squad leader. Simple. You'll start in two days. Now go and meet your squad properly," he finished.

Northstar and Cecilia stood to leave but Northstar turned back. "Thank you" he said quietly to Bishop before leaving the office.

_A Mutant Steroid Production Facility,_

_Texas,_

_Around One Month Later,_

"So why is your squad taking this one, Psylocke?" Jean-Paul asked as they waited for their signal.

"Because this lab, like just about every other piece of mutant-related genetic research in the damned country, apparently, is run by Sinister. Which means MORE Nasty Boys. So sick of killing those idiots," she said. Spotting a flash from inside the warehouse, she said, "That's our signal. Your time to shine, flyboy." Grabbing her by the shoulders, he lifted her up, barrelling them through a window into the factory.

Landing in a roll, Psylocke was already attacking the remaining guards that Shadowcat hadn't taken out when suddenly an explosion too large for Shard to have created rocked the factory. Cecilia, on the other side of the production floor, threw up a shield that protected them all from debris and the explosion itself. Dropping the shields, Cecilia let them out and Jean-Paul flew towards the source of the explosion, when he suddenly stopped dead. Three figures were porting through the smoke. Three very familiar figures.

Blink and Chamber did not even look at Jean-Paul, merely 'porting off to the side where they began to destroy the steroids. Jean-Paul flew over to Domino. "Look who decided to stop sticking everything they could find in their arm and start fighting the good fight. Your little MU buddies know about your past….indiscretions?" she snapped viciously.

"Good to see you too, Domino. Yes, some of them know. I assume you recognize Cecilia Reyes?" he shot back. Ignoring her, he flew over to Blink and Chamber. They didn't look up at him. "Blink? Jono?" he asked quietly. "Are you ok?" Chamber did not react, continuing to send out small blasts to destroy the steroids. Blink looked over at him and he gasped in shock. Her face was covered in bruises. "Clarice…what happened?" he asked before she could speak.

She looked at him sadly. "Nothing Jean-Paul. I just…had a fall," she said softly.

"Clarice……tell me" he said softly but she turned back to her work, 'porting boxes over for Chamber. She ignored Jean-Paul. Giving up for the moment, he turned to Chamber, still destroying boxes. "Jono, where have you guys been, what have you been doing?" he asked. The boy ignored him. "Jono?" he practically begged. The boy continued to ignore him.

Blink came over, still 'porting boxes and said, "He doesn't talk much anymore." Looking at her, Northstar said, "Blink, what has happened to you? Is it Domino? Is she…" he began but Domino called out "Blink!" and she cut him off. "I think you need to go back to your friends, Jean-Paul. Now." "Blink!" he begged, refusing to move but suddenly, she 'ported him over to his squad.

Looking on in silence as the Crew destroyed the steroids, Jean-Paul stormed over to confront Domino. "What have you been doing to those children?" he demanded righteously.

Looking directly at him, Domino said, "What they deserve. Which you will get in about 5 seconds if you don't move. One," she began.

"Domino you can't be serious!" he said.

"Two," she said, pulling a gun and aiming it at him.

"Blink is covered in bruises and something is clearly wrong with Chamber."

"Three," she said coldly before firing. Jean-Paul reacts instantaneously, throwing himself backward and the bullet bounced off the shield Cecilia threw around him. Domino looks at him, still expressionless and says, "Slippery trigger finger. Won't happen again. Four." Jean-Paul looks over at Blink and Chamber who are destroying the last of the boxes when Domino says, "Five." And starts firing.

Cecilia hadn't dropped the shield so he flew backwards, getting away before she could seriously press the shield. Following him with her gun, Domino suddenly switched aim at the MU squads who sprang into action the instant she fired at Jean-Paul. Seeing that was useless as they were shielded by Cecilia, she called Blink over.

Blink appeared instantly and said, "Yes Domino?" but Domino just grabbed her, shoving a gun to her temple. "Get down here now, crackhead!" she shouted. Jean-Paul appeared in front of her in an instant. Unable to do anything because Blink's pathetic, bruised body is in the way, he stands compliantly in front of Domino. Pulling out a second gun and pointing at him, Domino said, "It was nice knowing you." As Domino was about to fire, Blink snapped an elbow into Domino's gut and the bullet wings Jean-Paul's shoulder. A moment later, the Crew vanished.

_Medical Centre_

_The Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

In the medical centre, Cecilia watches as Jean-Paul's shoulder was tended. The wound was superficial, more an injury to his pride than anything else. Domino had whomped all over them, playing off their weaknesses, Jean-Paul's weaknesses, to get away. She was gone and she would continue to do what she was doing to Blink and Chamber.

Seeing them like that…Cecilia shuddered. Jean-Paul had told her more but she'd seen for herself the bruises covering Blink. The only other person Cecilia had ever seen look like that was during medical school when she had been doing her internship at medical school and a boy had been brought in. His father had been beating him. Cecilia shuddered, thinking of the bruises she'd seen on Blink's face as if they had been on her daughter's face. _I have to do something. _"Something has to be done," Jean-Paul said as the doctor left. She looked up sharply at Jean-Paul's voice so closely mirroring her own thoughts. "We can't leave either of them with her. We can't. You didn't see them properly, Cecilia, you couldn't see all the bruises. And Jono….Jono is the one I'm the most worried about. I don't know how much Clarice told you about before she met you but there was a time when Jono was hovering on the verge of sadism. I'm afraid he's going to slip over."

Cecilia spoke up. "We can't leave them with Domino. This kind of damage, the only sure way is psi-therapy. That means somewhere like the Xavier Institute, or the Muir Island facility. Or here."

Jean-Paul's attention perked up at the last phrase. "They have psi-therapists here?" he asked, curious. In his month with the MU, he'd not encountered any of these psis, but he realised that Shard must have been working with them in the deprogramming department. Turning to Cecilia, he asked, "Will the others help?"

She nodded. "Shard owes those two as much as I do and Monet saw those bruises. Morph will help because Morph helps people." Jean-Paul nodded. "Can you get them for me?" he asked. "I'm not allowed out of here for 2 days."

Cecilia nodded. "I'll be back in a minute," she said, heading out the door. Jean-Paul leant back into the bed. The sight of those bruises on Blink wouldn't leave his head. Cecilia returned with the rest of his squad.

"Some of you already know what happened before I joined up with the MU. For those that don't, here's how it goes." He told them everything. His skiing career in Canada, his drug addiction and subsequent fall from grace. Getting into mercenary work and cleaning up. Why he stayed in mercenary work. Why he left and how he fell back into the drugs again. How he ended up where he was now. Finishing, he said, "I need to do something for Blink and Chamber. I can't…I won't leave them in the kind of situation they are in."

Monet was the first to speak up. "I saw those bruises on the pink girl. There is no way I can permit a child of that age to remain in this kind of situation."

Cecilia spoke up next. "I already owe those two too much to let them suffer. I'm in."

Morph looked at them. Shard spoke before him. "I'm in. I owe those too even more than Cecilia," she said with a shiver.

"Have you got a plan for getting this past Bishop?" Jean-Paul nodded. "Two approaches. Domino is well established in the mercenary business and we can go after her through straight up official channels. We smack child abuse on top of everything else, we will have no trouble. It's true too, Blink is 15." Looking at Morph, he asked, "Are you in?"

Morph replied, "Of course I'm in. Do you think I'd let you try this by yourselves, child abuse or not? Morons. Of course I'm in."

Jean-Paul looked around at his squad and realised what had happened. He'd assumed command tonight. He'd better live up to it. He owed it to Blink and Chamber to make sure he lived up to it.


	9. Stockholm Syndrome Twixt Heaven and Hell

**9. Stockholm Syndrome**

**Unknown Part 2**

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Shortly after his release from medical custody, Jean-Paul sought out Shard. She was in the powers training rooms, detonating her concussive bursts against steel girders. It was…..impressive. Waiting outside for the detonations to pause, Jean-Paul walked into the room and got her attention. Dropping her arms, Shard asked, "What can I do for you, JP?" Wincing faintly at that obnoxious nickname, he said, "We need to find them." Her face set. "Come with me," she said, businesslike and sombre. Leading him out from the training rooms, she didn't pause to get changed, heading deeper into the complex. Taking him through a security checkpoint, she lead him into an eerily lit computer laboratory, holographic displays of the United States lighting up a corner of the room. "What is this?" he asked curiously. "This is how we find people," she replied, smiling faintly. She headed over to one of the terminals. "After the…incident with Sinister," she said, face locking up, cold and remote, "Blink, Chamber and Domino were at one of our holding facilities for a few days. During that time, our computers registered their energy signatures various times." At Jean-Paul's enquiring glance, she replied "It's standard procedure. You and I are both being examined near constantly. Anyway, getting back to the point, Blink teleported a number of times during her stay here. This leaves a rather unique energy signature. We can track it." Jean-Paul felt his heart jump. _There was a chance to find them._ Shard began to type away rapidly, the holographic map focusing in on the steroid production facility. Shard, said "Here is the facility where we met them." Watching a brief snap on one of the side monitors, she triggered another program. Tapping away, she said, "I'm going to trace the signal." Watching the monitors, she scanned and scanned but found no trace. Blowing the map right out to a view of the world, she said, "They went out of the States. I didn't think Blink had that kind of range." Jean-Paul smiled wryly. "When fresh, I rather suspect Blink could get to the moon. She was not, however, fresh." Suddenly, one of the monitors' displays spiked. Honing in, Shard said, "Got them. They're in England. What the bloody hell are they doing in England?" "Who cares?" Jean-Paul said quickly, "I need to get there as soon as possible!" Shard looked up but he was already gone from the room.

_Bishop's Office,_

_The Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Jean-Paul stood in Bishop's office. "You need to let me do this," the Canadian almost begged. "All I need is a jet, my squad are in." Bishop still looked doubtful. "Bishop, you didn't see them. I know you've met Blink and Chamber and if you had seen them…" he trailed off. Grimacing at the Canadian, Bishop flicked a switch on his desk and said, "Have Psylocke up here as soon as possible." He said slowly. A voice piped up out of a speaker, set in the desk "Commissioner, Psylocke is on a mission, not expected back for another two days minimum." "Monet," Jean-Paul hissed. Glancing at him, Bishop said, "Then have Monet sent up, please." Letting go of the switch, he looked at Jean-Paul and continued, "I don't know what could hurt Blink that badly. But if anyone could do it, Domino could. So I'll let a telepath show me. But JP, this isn't the time for a crusade. Those kids haven't been kids for a while and don't need you to look after them." A knock sounded on the door and Monet entered, asking, "You wanted to see me, Commissioner?" Bishop waved her inside and said, "About the girl at the steroid factory and the boy, Blink and Chamber, what can you show me?" Monet said, "Plenty." reaching out to grasp his temples gently with her fingers. Closing her eyes, she summoned up the images, the feelings of the meeting. Blink's bruises, livid against the pink skin. The menacing sadness that Chamber was practically vibrating with, that had made every psi in the room nervous for hours afterward. Also the cold emptiness from Domino, flowing over everything, nearly washing the other two out. Bishop's eyelids fluttered as he processed the memories. He sat back in his chair as Monet removed her hand, thinking. "Jean-Paul…..go. Now. I've no doubt that your squad have already agreed to this so find Porter and go. I want you to use your judgement but for God's sake don't get anyone killed," Bishop said. Jean-Paul was gone even before the sound of Bishop's words had faded. Monet nodded to Bishop and left, closing the door quietly after her. Bishop rubbed his temples, images of bruises on pink skin and a sense of fear and menace combined lingering in his brain. Shaking his head, he got back to work.

_The Telepad,_

_The Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Monet, Morph and Cecilia watched as Shard explained to Telford Porter where they were going. He was nodding before they were done. Jean-Paul, standing beside them, was practically vibrating with suppressed energy. Telford Porter motioned to the others, waving them closer. He nearly hit Jean-Paul when he began the gesture again. Startled, the man dropped his hand to his side. When they were as close as they could get, he said, "England, here we come." They vanished.

_The Granbury Estate,_

_A Few Hours North of London, England,_

Reappearing in a small wooded thicket, Telford Porter was panting slightly with the effort of 'porting so many people. Standing straight after a moment, he said, "Good luck" before vanishing back across the Atlantic. Motioning to everyone to cluster together, Shard began, "Our aim here is the kids. Get in and get them out. No picking fights with Domino. We..." but she was cut off as for the second time in as many minutes, the squad was teleported away.

_Granbury Manor,_

_London, England,_

Reappearing inside the manor house they had just been standing outside of, the squad immediately went on guard. Domino, standing in the hall, was clapping. "Well done," she said. "I didn't expect you here for some time yet!" Suddenly, her expression and her voice changes completely. "Blink!" she snapped harshly. The squad vanish again, reappearing in a completely enclosed room. Domino and Blink, who accompanied them this time, stand in a corner and Domino said, "I wouldn't try breaking out. You are underground and the weight of the earth would probably crush you fairly quickly. Of course, with what's in these walls, I suspect you'd all have a hard time getting out anyway. Lovely to see you again, Shard, Cecilia," she hisses and she and Blink vanish. Staring at the spot where they had been standing, Jean-Paul asks quietly, "Did you see her face?" The others nod. Blink's face had been covered in greenish-purple bruises and there had been half healed cuts all across her brow. They hadn't been there two days before.

_Hours Later, _

The rest of the squad were sleeping. Wondering how they could sleep at a time like this, Jean-Paul paced. He had worn a groove in the floor. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound and spun around to see Blink standing in the corner. The light on the wall cast a disturbing shadow across her face, combining with the bruises to make her look like a bizarre kind of ghost. "Clarice…" Jean-Paul whispered. She smiled faintly at him. "It's good to see you, Jean-Paul. It was sweet of you to come," she said softly. "Clarice, why are you staying here? You could leave at any time," He said. As she looked at him sadly, he thought she had never looked so ethereal. "I have to stay here. It's best this way. I'd like to take you back but I can't, she'd find out," she said softly. "Domino?" Jean-Paul asked. "Did she do this to you?" he asked, reaching out with a hand to gently touch her cheek. Blink turned her face away with a small flinch. "I have to go," she whispered. "You can't find out. Jono found out and he went to talk to her and…..he hasn't talked since. I have to go," she said, voice growing more frantic, panicking. Jean-Paul reached out to her "Clarice…" but she 'ported away before he finished saying her name. In the underground cell with his sleeping squadmates, Northstar dropped down in the corner and wept like a broken-heated child.

Some hours later, presumably the next day, Blink teleported down Chamber and Domino, face revealing nothing about the visit to Jean-Paul the night before. The other members of the Mutant Underground, awake now, watched them silently. Domino watched the squad. Blink and Chamber stood in the corner pretending not to be there. This silent scene continued for half an hour when Domino snapped her fingers and the three vanished. The instant they left, Monet turns to Jean-Paul. "Monstrous!" she snaps out, furious. "Inhuman!" Jean-Paul looks at her strangely. Spitting the words out, she says "That boy, he was trying to probe us while they were here. It would have been under Domino's orders. He couldn't get past anyone's shields but I slipped past his when he was busy. What has been done to him is so monstrous it's beyond terrifying. His mind, his personality, a powerful telepath has simply written over them, wiping so much away that all that's left is obedience to Domino. They took away his ability to speak. He…what was done to him, was done by someone with an enormous amount of telepathic power. I don't think there is anyone in MU who could do it. Sage maybe and possibly one or two others but it would be a procedure of immense difficulty…" she trailed off. Jean-Paul felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Wiped. For trying to find out what happened to Blink. He shivered. "We have to do something. We can't rely on Blink to get us out. She visited last night and she…she won't be our way out of here," Jean-Paul said quickly. "We need to get out of here by main force. This is deep underground. Gravity is still the same though. That way is up," he said, pointing to the ceiling. "We go out hard, Shard and Monet getting us through the walls, Morph and Cecilia, you need to keep the dirt off us. As soon as I can, I'm getting out of here to where I can be useful. What's happened to Chamber….this just means its even more urgent to get them out of here. We can't do that trapped however many meters underground. We need to get out." Looking at them, seeing the nods of agreement, he realised that he was the leader now. He was taking responsibility for something. He just hoped it wasn't going to end in tragedy.

On one side of the room, Jean-Paul, Cecilia and Morph waited while Shard and Monet murmured to each other. Nodding in agreement, they waved to Cecilia who raised a shield around herself and Northstar. She then put up a second one around Morph, to be dropped when he could be useful. Signalling back, she gave a thumbs up and Shard turned to the ceiling and let loose with a massive concussion. Monet flew up like a human bullet, ignoring the massive chunks of the reinforcing that had braced the room against the considerable weight of the dirt falling around her. She slammed into the roof, pounding her way through the first layer. Shard let loose burst after burst and Monet began hammering at the metal plates, finally reaching dirt. Shard retreated to a shield set up by Cecilia with an opening for her hands and Morph shifted into a bizarre machine resembling a wheel with shovels for spokes. He began to spin around, shovels whipping dirt out of the way. Cecilia, concentrating on the complex shields, was carried up by Jean-Paul. Morph grew an extra appendage that lifted Shard up where she could use her concussions to help Monet force the way through. Powering up, the squad rose out of darkness, eventually slamming through the floor of the room they had been 'ported into some time ago. Domino, who had been lounging in a chair, began to react instantly when Jean-Paul slammed into her, knocking her back against a bookcase with a sickening thud. Dropping down, she rolled around groggily as the squad emerged. Monet flew through a blast from Chamber to knock him out and Cecilia slammed a shield against the back of Blink's head, sending her slumping to the ground. Jean-Paul was holding Domino by the shoulders, shaking her viciously. "Why did you do it!" he demanded. "Why?" Still groggy from the impact, Domino's head lolled on her chest. Jean-Paul threw her in a fury, so fast she slammed into the bookcase again before anyone could react. Dropping to the floor bonelessly, she did not get up. Turning, he walked over to Blink lying on the floor. Cecilia was the only one who saw the tears trickling down her cheeks. "Blink…" he said softly. Suddenly, something seized his mind in icy talons, digging in past his MU shields, past the street training he had gotten from Domino, past his natural stubbornness deep into his mind. He started to scream as the claws raked through his memories, digging up all the painful things from his past. _Flash_ the soft grunt of a man he mugged, stealing money to pay Sharples for another fix. _Flash_ the surge of revulsion he'd felt as he beat Daredevil nearly to death, _Flash, _the crack of Maria's spine as he failed yet another girl who couldn't even control her entire mind, _Flash_ giving Maria the toy horse and her pathetic gratitude, _Flash, _Maria coming back with Blink, covered in Cockrum's blood, _Flash, _A woman's voice screaming at him, "Begone, devil! Your temptations will never entice me! Abomination!" _Flash_ the screaming_ Flash_ the restraints, _Flash, _the withdrawal the first time he'd gotten clean. For two months, he could barely stop twitching, he'd thrash whenever anyone touched him. _Flash_ a man's voice saying "Jean-Paul Beaubier, you have tested positive for the recreational drugs Cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD, GHB, and a number of others. You are no longer permitted to compete professionally in the nation of Canada, nor as a representative of the nation of Canada." _Flash_ Adolescent trauma childhood _Flash _His parents in the hospital telling him their son couldn't be gay, they'd raised him properly _Flash _ Searing pain in his wrists as he slashed them, washing it away with shot after shot of alcohol, convinced there was something wrong with him, something bad. _Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, _each new second bringing back the worst pain from a lifetime of agony. Jean-Paul collapsed onto the ground, vaguely aware of Cecilia next to him, grabbing his shoulder.

Cecilia turned as JP began to scream, running over, grabbing his shoulder searching for an injury. Suddenly, Shard started to convulse and whimper, Morph began to change shape wildly. Monet stared at Cecilia and then screamed "Shield!" as Shard began to blast randomly. Shielding herself, Cecilia watched Monet throw herself at Shard, knocking her down. She was blasted back but, protected by her invulnerability, she got up and hit Shard again. Shard dropped to the ground, convulsing and Cecilia felt claws raking across her mind. She screamed and heard _his_ voice. _"You will do what I want Cecilia. I'm afraid that if you don't, well, your daughter may just develop a terminal case of…ooh I'm sure I can think of something._ Screaming, Cecilia sank to the ground.

Monet watched Cecilia get seized by whoever was attacking. It was probably a psychic and to get through MU shields and do this to agents, incredibly powerful. Monet knew she had no chance of standing up to them so she simply sat on the ground, legs crossed. She might have time to set a few things up before they got in. Diving into her mental shields, Monet began to set traps, surprises to backfire a telepathic assault on the attacker, traps that would lash out like whips that destroyed memory. So focused on her mental shields, she didn't notice a figure walk down from a balcony and she was so absorbed in her work she didn't even notice the woman who had walked into the room and smiled viciously as something knocked Monet into unconsciousness.

Blink woke up and looked around at the bodies of the MU squad. Crawling over, she checked the nearest one, Shard, for a pulse. Finding one, she breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting back on her heels, she looked around seeing the rest of the squad lying in the room, Chamber and Domino scattered around. Hearing a faint sound, she turned and saw a figure sitting on a chair in the shadows. Blink whimpered. _It was her._ "I..I..I…" she stuttered but trailed off. The woman would know. She would understand about what Blink had done. Standing, the figure walked forward into the light and Blink whimpered again. "Shhhhhh," Jean Grey said softly. "You will be punished, of course," she continued, reaching out and stroking Blink's hair. "You know you need to be punished. But I won't make it hurt any more than it has to." It appeared that Domino had been too soft on the girl. The physical beatings had been a start but adding in the mental component was always necessary. Jean sighed softly. This would take a while, and lots of pain to break down the walls Domino had put in place for the Sinister operation. Reaching into Blink's mind, she brushed past the shielding Domino had trained into her, pushing them aside like curtains. The girl in her hands started to twitch, tears rolling down her cheeks, but Jean ignored it and continued in. Sifting quickly through Blink's memories, pulling out the painful ones. Scanning, she saw some similarities to Jean-Paul's. A great deal of similarity to Chamber's. Pulling out sounds, Feral's spine breaking, Red Lotus' laboured breathing in Sinister's laboratory, the feeling she had after she had killed one of the Strong Guy clones, she injected them all back into Blink's head. The psychic punishment was certainly cleaner than the physical. Blink began to whimper and tried to thrash in Jean's arms but the older woman held her steady. Suddenly, she felt something start _tearing_ at her body, pulling her to pieces. Lashing out with her telekinesis, she felt Blink fly back to the ground. The tearing sensation vanished but Blink was looking at her, eyes trying to bore a hole through her head. Jean reached out with her telepathy intending to freeze the girl up but Blink hissed at her in a fury and vanished. _That girl has some serious potential and some serious issues_,Jean thought to herself. Reaching out with her telepathy, scanning the estate knowing she couldn't have gone far in her groggy condition, Jean instinctively created a telekinetic shield as Blink threw herself at her from behind. Bouncing of the shield, the girl hissed again and she vanished. Spinning around physically and scanning psychically, Jean looked for the same trick. What she found surprised her a great deal. Where previously there had been seven unconscious people, now there was only one. Blink had taken the agents and Chamber. Clicking her tongue in irritation, Jean began to wake Domino up. This was very inconvenient.

_The Canadian Wilds,_

_Canada,_

Monet woke to freezing cold. They were surrounded by a snowy wilderness that looked remarkably like Canada. Turning, she saw the pink girl, Blink, curled into a ball rocking gently. Monet looked at her team-mates, still unconscious. That psychic attack had been incredible. Feeling the lump on the back of her head, Monet realised wryly that they had been taken down really easily. Turning to the pink girl, she said softly, "Blink…did you bring us here?" The girl didn't respond, just continuing to rock. Sighing, Monet turned away. She wasn't going to risk a probe, not after that attack. She walked over through the snow and started shaking Cecilia. None of the others were in good condition so they needed help. Which meant she'd have to go but damned if she was going to leave them alone, defenceless. So she had to wake up Cecilia who could probably protect them for long enough for her to get back to a facility. If they were in Canada, that is. The woman began to make sounds, groggy and suffering from psychic damage. Monet jammed a telepathic quick fix into her brain, a simple block on her memories that would give her a killer headache when it dissolved in about eight or twelve hours. Couldn't be helped. Monet explained to her softly as she woke up, "Cecilia, we're out in the woods somewhere and we're all injured. I have to go for help. You need to look after them, ok? You can rest once I get help but I need you to take care of everyone, ok?" The woman was nodding but still looked really vague. Sighing, Monet hoped it would be enough. She needed to go, they wouldn't last too long unconscious in the snow. Lifting off, she headed south, guessing from the position of the sun. She just hoped there wouldn't be any problems getting through to the Underground office stationed in Washington. At the moment, she was just as likely to fly straight through them.

_Bishop's Office,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Picking up his phone Bishop said, "Bishop here, start talking." The voice on the other end of the line talked and Bishop's face fell. Slamming the phone down, he said, "Get me Porter at the telepad and get Sage back from wherever she's gone. We have a squad down." He ran down from his office to the telepad and met Vanisher there. "Where?" was all he said and Bishop replied just as shortly, "Washington. Better information from Monet there." The man nodded and they reappeared in the Washington facilities telepad. Jumping off, Bishop walked quickly over to Monet and the aide waiting to meet him. "Where?" he snapped out and Monet said, "I'll give it to Vanisher. Let's go." Heading back to the pad, Monet touched her fingers to Vanisher and they disappeared.

_The Canadian Wilderness,_

_Canada,_

The three reappeared, Monet immediately taking to the air to move quicker than she would have through the snow. Meters away, the squad, Blink and Chamber lay under a shield and Monet waved to Cecilia to make her drop the shield. It didn't move, wavering only slightly. "Cecilia!" Monet called but received no response. Punching the shield caused it to waver and as Bishop and Vanisher approached, Monet slammed it over and over again until it dropped. Inside, Cecilia wavered and dropped to the ground. The Vanisher gathered everyone close to him and they vanished in a flash.

_Epilogue,_

_Medical Wing,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Looking through the class window, Sage and Bishop looked at the seven who had come back from England. "We got a coherent report from Monet. It explains the severe psychic trauma all the others have suffered." Bishop explained. "Blink's physical injuries are serious but not life threatening. Chamber is physically fine and only Monet suffered any physical injuries among the agents." Looking through the window, face expressionless, Sage asked, "Why have I been called in?" Bishop replied, "There are similarities in the technique. You are the expert and the only one who could undo this level of damage. I don't want to loose four agents and two potentials because of your obsession." Sage nodded slowly, accepting Bishop's plan for Blink and Chamber. "I will do what I can," she said finally. "But Lucas, I make no promises. The damage done is….significant. I don't think they will ever be the same." Bishop nodded and turned away, returning to his work. Sage continued to watch the patients for some time.


	10. Borealis

**10. Borealis**

_Medical Wing,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters_

By nature, the woman known as Sage was coldly analytical. Her power only enhanced this aspect of her personality. So when faced with the prospect of trying to restore the damage done to the psyches of nearly an entire squad of Mutant Underground agents, she began to gather data. Appraising the sources did not take a long time. The squad members themselves could contribute once the first had been restored but until then, she had to rely on the incomplete data provided by Monet as to the nature of the attacks. The woman herself was in medical as well, a physical rather than a mental injury incurred during the incident. Gaining access to her was not simple, her path barred by fierce medical attendants who cared for the injured Mutant Underground officers. Retreating for a few days, she formulated a basic therapeutic plan susceptible to refinement once more data was added. This was going to be a long process.

Some days later, Sage managed to get past the guardians and in to see Monet. The woman greeted her calmly. "I need to know the exact circumstances of the incident, all available data." Sage said emotionlessly. Monet nodded and Sage reached out, resting her hands on the woman's temples as she began to receive information. _The blur of images sped through Sage's head, the operation at the steroid factory, seeing Domino and the children there. The bruises on Blink and the menacingly terrified impressions from Chamber. Domino's vicious violence. _ _Jean-Paul's actions after his release from medical, teleporting to England, being hit by the teleporter in the woods, their imprisonment, their escape and confrontation with Domino, Blink and Chamber. Jean-Paul screaming and convulsing as someone tore through the minds of his team mates, her own desperate attempt to protect the integrity of her mind leaving her physically vulnerable. Waking up in the snow and the exhausting flight to reach the Washington branch of the Underground. Bishop and Vanisher, breaking through Cecilia's shield, the arrival back at base, finding out from Bishop that all of her friends had to be kept heavily sedated to stop them from screaming constantly. Cecilia too, her stopgap attempt at help hadn't been enough. The orderly's refusing to allow her to visit them._ Sage cut of the information forcibly. Monet apologized. "My control has still not returned. I'm told once the lingering affects of the concussion fade, I will be…repaired." Sage nodded to the woman and left the room without speaking again. The medical staff had refused to disclose the information to her, she would have to speak to Bishop about getting a medical clearance. The data she had acquired from Monet indicated even more danger than she'd originally thought.

Some days later, the thoroughly chastised medical staff allowed her into Cecilia Reyes' room. Sage had decided to begin with Cecilia, as the woman had the least damage thanks to Monet's attempted quick fix. Entering the private room she had been moved to, Sage sat down and composed herself momentarily. This would not be easy. For the first time in years, Sage uncurled her own telepathic powers from where they rested, wrapped in hundreds of layers around her mind. This was not something she did often. Dissolving booby-traps, sophisticated telepathic mines that made Monet's attempts look like digging tiny holes on a path, she set aside her current mental configuration. Reaching out mentally, she entered the preliminary layers of the mind of Cecilia Reyes.

_Cecilia's Mind,_

"_You will do what I want_,_ Cecilia. I'm afraid that if you don't, well, your daughter may just develop a terminal case of…ooh I'm sure I can think of something._ The words repeated over and over, the fear and terror associated with them buffeting Sage like a storm. Her surmise had been correct. This had been a memory-based resurrection of past pain. Requiring a great deal of power and skill. Delving in, Sage found the source of the memories, Sinister and his capture of Cecilia's daughter. Using her telepathy like a scalpel, Sage located the memory and _faded_ it. She did not remove it, that would leave a gap in Cecilia's memory and the MU had trained in traps to suppress memory implantation. She simply…dimmed…the pain and fear associated with the memory. The whipping storm of hurt and fear and pain did not recede though. Sighing, Sage delved deeper, feeling the next memory of pain. Guilt. Her time with the Nasty Boys had given her a kind of survivor-guilt for the people she had killed or permitted to die. Repeating the process, over and over, she hoped the woman possessed the strength of mind to overcome her own past.

_The Medical Wing,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Sage blinked slightly, eyes feeling grainy and tired. Her mind was exhausted. Turning, she saw an orderly adjusting Cecilia's drip. She asked, "How long?" The orderly answered, "Nearly three days." Sage sighed. Three days. The amount of damage her quarry could do in three days was terrible and Cecilia was the least damaged. Sighing, Sage really wished the Underground would get its hands on another decent psychic. She couldn't support the entire network herself, not and chase after her prey. Stretching stiffly, she stood and headed to her quarters but something stopped her. She looked at Cecilia who had opened her eyes and mouthed the words "Thanks you." to her. She nodded politely and left the room.

After resting for two days, driven to exhaustion by Cecilia's healing, she completed the process on Morph will little difficulty. The man had lived a life remarkably pain-free for an MU officer. His healing had taken less time in total than Cecilia's. She had rested for two days and then attempted the procedure on Shard. Bishop had insisted on being in attendance. This had taken much longer; the effects of Sinister's programming lingered in her mind and this trauma had only increased the pain, undoing some of the reconditioning work. She managed to remove the memory-loops without dislodging Shard's persona but it had taken as long as Cecilia and left her even more drained. She required nearly three days of rest.

Sage chose to attempt Chamber's healing next. It was still unclear how the squad had gotten back from England although logical deduction suggested Blink. Unconfirmed data, however, had tripped Sage before and she didn't make a mistake twice. How would Blink have overcome her identification with her abuser to teleport not only herself but six other people to the other side of the Atlantic, most likely in an exhausted state? It remained unclear. There were however, no reports of Chamber undergoing any kind of psychic attack. Sage focused herself in his room where he had been kept sedated as the others had been. He had not regained consciousness since being brought back from Canada. Sage focused herself and dove into his mind. Unlike the others, Chamber possessed mental powers of his own and his shields were not inconsiderably. There was also…ahh. Monet had mentioned the boy had been wiped and programmed. A vicious telepathic trick, one requiring even more power and skill than the memory loop. Sage dug and dug and searched for remnants of the boy's original personality and was struck by a terrifying pattern of similarities. The technique…..Focusing, Sage removed herself from his mind. She opened the door and said to the orderly waiting outside, "He must be taken to deprogramming. I've fixed what was making him stay unconscious and now an intensive deprogramming protocol will be necessary." Then she left to rest again. Tomorrow, she intended to investigate the mind of Jean-Paul Beaubier.

The next morning, Sage entered Northstar's room and sat down. The medical staff, well used to her routines by now, ignored her, removing themselves quietly from the room as soon as they had finished their duties. Sage focused herself. This would be the most difficult, as Monet's information, backed up by more data gained from the recovering squad members, indicated that Jean-Paul had been assaulted first. His mind had been in the grip of its memory-loops the longest. She sent a tendril of thought out and entered his mind, only to be immediately buffeted out, thrown back to her body. _Such pain_, she thought. She had only managed to try and assess how many layers of loops there were and had found an incredible number. So much pain in one life. She decided to attempt a healing on Blink first; Northstar might be a lost cause. Leaving the room, she padded next door into Blink's room. The vicious bruises that had covered her entire body had faded during the time she'd been in hospital care, the cuts on her forehead closing up and healing. Sitting down and focusing herself, Sage entered Blink's mind.

_Blink's Mind_

Sage entered into Blink's mind, finding none of the dramatic emotional interference she had encountered with the others. Sage realised that this wasn't Blink's mind, merely the outer level of a set of shields much more powerful than expected. Boring through them like a drill, Sage penetrated layer upon layer until she reached the edge of a memory loop. Blink had indeed been attacked by the telepath but had definitely 'ported them all back to North America. How? Sage began to deal with the memory layers, paying only half a mind, the rest of her power going deep into Blink to investigate the events of that night. Suddenly, a buffeting, tearing sensation ripped through her. Her whole mind snapping back to the memory loops, she discovered the final one had not been completely placed. Examining it, Sage discovered the flaw. To place these, a telepath would have to view them briefly from an observer's perspective. They could separate themselves from the hurt but they couldn't ignore the memory itself. This was the clue she needed. When setting the memory, the telepath had been caught up in Blink's traumatic power manifestation. Sage experienced it too, her years of shielding protecting her from the same fate as the other telepath. Watching on as Clarice Ferguson's powers manifested, a room full of family torn to pieces by a wild teleporter, the teenage girl's mind retreating deep into a primitive, feral shock. She felt the girl's pain brought up again by the killing of one of the Strong Guy clones. She felt the girl' s pain and as quickly as possible, contained the wildly flailing memory loop and dimmed it as she did the others. She felt Blink's mind struggling to rise out of its slumber and she withdrew.

_The Medical Wing,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Sage felt the now-familiar stiffness when she returned to her body and saw Clarice Ferguson looking at her with wide eyes. Nodding to the girl, she stood up and nearly fell, completely exhausted. Regaining her control instantly, she saw the girl had noticed her weakness. "Clarice, you're back in a Mutant Underground facility. How much do you remember of the last few weeks?" she asked. The girl looked at her and replied slowly, "I remember Domino. Domino and her. They took us, Chamber and me, and they were making us do jobs. Domino was beating me," she said softly. She continued, "He went to investigate. When he came back….he hasn't spoken in a long time…" she trailed off. Sage said, "Chamber is being deprogrammed of whatever the telepath put into his mind as we speak. Do you remember Jean-Paul?" Blink nodded, more assertively now. "He came for me. The factory…he tracked us down but Domino was ready for him. She had me…" she shuddered. "Is he ok?" she suddenly demanded. Sage looked at the girl, trying to assess how much she could take. "When Jean-Paul came to you," she explained, "he brought a squad of MU agents with him. He is an agent now." At the girl's surprised glance, she continued. "The entire squad was captured. There was a confrontation, between the squad and you, Chamber and Domino. You were defeated. They were attacked by a very powerful telepath. It has taken me some time to restore them. Jean-Paul is not yet restored." Blink looked up sharply at the last sentence. "I remember…" she began but Sage cut her off. "Don't try to, please. You also suffered under the telepath before managing to get them back to Canada." Blink nodded slowly, eyes thoughtful. "How is Jean-Paul?" she asked rapidly. Sage decided the girl needed the facts. "Comatose. The telepath tore up the memories of the entire squad and used a very nasty trick on them. I've managed to restore them so far and I was going to attempt Jean-Paul today but…he has suffered a great deal in his life. The telepath's attack may have been too much. I do not know if I can restore him." She said. Rapidly changing the subject while the girl processed the information, she asked, "Who is the 'her' you mentioned?" Blink, looking at the floor as she realised Jean-Paul might have been ruined trying to rescue her, answered without thinking, the months of having the obedience beaten into her coming to the fore. "The name we used was Jean Grey." Sage processed this data. Not him. But the similarities…maybe a pupil? The connection was too obvious, the technique to similar. But the MU knew about Jean Grey already. She was one of the X-men, gone rogue some years ago. She hadn't been active in some time. Sage said to Blink, "I will let you get some sleep now." And walked quietly out of the room, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. She returned to her own quarters and slept.

Four days. This was getting worse and worse. Four more days and she still hadn't dealt with Northstar. Sage felt frustration rising, knowing what her quarry could do in these weeks she spent here. But she was learning things she hadn't suspected before. Such a risk. Entering Jean-Paul's room again, she sat down. Focusing herself, she had a quick flash of the last time she'd tried to enter his mind, the seething maelstrom of pain and torment. Steeling herself, she dove in.

_Jean-Paul's Mind,_

The whirling vortex of damage and pain seethed through Jean-Paul's mind like a hurricane. Sage felt battered and buffeted, struggling just to endure the emotional storm. She got to work immediately, throwing herself at the first loop. The emotional storm focused itself into bitterness and self-hate, Jean-Paul robbing a man on the street, needing money for his next fix. Dealing with it, Sage moved deeper. The shaking and hatred he'd felt after he beat Daredevil, the fear of the _liking_ for the vicious power and the feel of bone snapping under his blows. Sage dimmed it back, severing the loop and moving on. Flash of a training room somewhere, Daredevil holding a girl up, _Maria_ and racing towards her, too late as he snaps her spine with a crack. Sage persevered. Brief flash of a warehouse, Blink looking at him as he gave the same girl a horse, the terrible fear and crushing sadness of knowing he couldn't do anything to save her from the deteriorating mental condition. Forcing her way past, Sage cut the loop and continued. The same childlike girl coming back with Blink covered in the blood of Senator Cockrum. Dealt with. Flash of another girl, in a straight jacket throwing herself at him with a speed nearly equal to his, biting and kicking, screaming words at him, "Devil! Abomination! You cannot tempt me, fiend!" Passing through, Sage continued. The same girl, screaming and yelling as she is strapped down in a straight jacket after something terrible fragments her broken mind even more. Flash after flash, years' worth of visits to this woman and girl, watching a descent into madness in reverse. The desperate physical assaults, the scathing shrieks, "Abomination! Your sins have damned you to hell!" The knowledge that he can't do anything for her, coupled with the grief for Maria. Sage severed these, releasing them to the basement of the mind where they could be dealt with. The first time he'd been clean, the terrible withdrawal. Two months of convulsions, uncontrollable thrashing whenever anyone touched him. The same girl, hissing viciously, "This is where your sins have taken you. Impure!" A suicide attempt, pills and alcohol, a rush to a hospital for the disgrace. Being kicked off the Canadian ski team after testing positive to numerous recreational drugs. Sage severed these and moved on. Moving through Jean-Paul's entire life, she dredged each dirty memory of the loop where the telepath had placed them, returning them to where they belonged. Right back to childhood, pain and trauma. A suicide attempt, slashing his wrists when he realised he wasn't like everyone else, there was something wrong with him that couldn't be fixed. Waking up in the hospital, his sickened foster-parents telling him that he couldn't be gay, they'd raised him properly. The rejection and the sting. The subsequent suicide attempt, trying to hang himself in the hospital. The nurses had cut him down. Sage sliced through the loops, staggered by the pain in this man' s life. Right back to the deaths of his parents at age four, he had known little else. Struggling to the core of his mind, she felt the tiny, broken sense of self that Jean-Paul had tried to protect from this hideous onslaught. Waking that up, returning it to mental power, she withdrew exhausted. She barely made it back to her own body. She tried to stand and couldn't, incapable of movement. Her attempt had caught the attention of a nurse who came in. Answering Sage's question before she asked it, she said, "You've been here for nearly five days. You ate when we fed you, just like normal." Leaving the room, she shut the door quietly. Sage dropped back in the chairs and looked over at Jean-Paul who was looking at her with cold blue eyes. He tried to speak but couldn't. She was too tired to communicate, collapsing into sleep in the chair.

_Two Days Later,_

_Mutant Underground Medical Facility,_

Jean-Paul Beaubier sat in bed and looked at his visitors. His squad had all gotten out of bed earlier than he had even been healed, they were all still off-duty though. Chamber was up and about, almost completely uninjured- physically. Deprogramming still wasn't letting him wander without a number of guards. Blink was staggering around on crutches, something about allowing a damaged ankle time to heal properly. Blink hated the crutches. She'd 'ported three pairs, or at least, parts of three pairs to parts unknown and refused to bring them back. She was sitting in the uncomfortable chair where the strange woman who'd braved the depths of his mind and brought him back to reality had been sitting two days before. She'd been carried out some time ago once the staff realised she was back in her own body, just unconscious. He'd been told that she had yet to wake up. Jean-Paul shivered. He didn't like anyone in his mind, for any reason. She knew…she knew everything about him. All his secrets, more than Blink and the Canadian Ski teams and drug authorities knew. Shivering again, Jean-Paul dragged himself back from introspection to reality. Monet was standing in the corner, studying him. He returned her probing stare with a bland look and said, "So am I in trouble?"

Shard gave him a flat look while Cecilia gave a small chuckle. Shard turned her stare on the woman but she just smiled again, shaking her head. Sighing, Shard turned her attention back to Jean-Paul. "Bishop was…displeased at the result of the mission," she said, "but once Sage restored us all, he calmed down. The objectives were accomplished, after all. Blink and Chamber were rescued but, perhaps even more importantly, we learnt something else about Domino." Facing Blink, she said, "I know you don't want to talk about the other woman but you need to tell us something." Blink glared at her furiously. Shard had been trying to extricate information from her since she woke up and Blink wasn't ready to tell anyone about what had happened. Shard, however, stood in front of the door and with the damned crutches, Blink doubted she'd get around.

Jean-Paul watched Blink's face harden at the question. _The other woman? Must have been the telepath_ he thought to himself. About to speak up when Shard caged Blink in the room, he didn't bother because she vanished a moment later, her crutches rattling to the floor. Sighing, Shard slouched, posture relaxing from the rigid position she'd been holding herself. Glancing at Jean-Paul, she said "Stop looking at me like that! It needs to be asked! Don't you want to know who did this to you?" Looking at her, Jean-Paul slowly said, "I don't ever want to meet the woman again in my life. Ever."

Jean-Paul recovered slowly. When Sage woke up a week later, she went to see him to check no lasting damage had been done to his psyche. His body had come through the torment whole and he was allowed out for flights now. But his mind…. Sage knocked briskly and entered the room. She wished to be back on her own case, anxious to be out of HQ. But her mental defences had been removed and she needed time to build them up again. So she stayed. She monitored her patients' progress of course, but with all the others, that had no longer been necessary after a week. Jean-Paul, however, she was worried about. Traumatic as the other's pasts had been, Jean-Paul had been the worst of all of them. That kind of pain required heavy coping mechanisms and or some serious repression and Jean-Paul had opted for the latter. But this kind of trauma…repression wasn't enough. Not when it was all at once. Sage was worried that Jean-Paul's mind had cracked under the stress. The man's power was considerable, and if he grew violent, he would be very hard to stop. Seeing Jean-Paul standing at the large window, one leg out, she sighed. It was like a teenager trying to sneak out. Looking back at her, Jean-Paul nodded and sat on the windowsill, delaying his departure. The silence stretched. Eventually, Sage spoke up. "Jean-Paul, I already know just about every bad thing that happened to you in your entire life. So when you are ready to talk, I am available." Deciding not to keep him here, she helped him out the window. He nodded to her, thanking her silently for the assistance and dropped off the sill, taking flight. Sage turned and went to one of the computer labs. It wouldn't take much to track that beacon she'd palmed onto Northstar and she wanted to know where he headed.

Two hours later, Northstar arrived back in his room and Sage sat at a terminal in the computer lab. He'd gone to Canada. Montreal. More specifically, an asylum just outside of Montreal proper. Getting into their patient database hadn't been difficult and scanning through files, Sage searched for who he would be visiting. _An old flame? _She doubted that. The telepath hadn't spared any effort on Northstar and anyone significant enough to him to make him visit an asylum would have had some pain associated with them. Otherwise they wouldn't be in an asylum. Scanning the list of patients for initial clues, Sage stopped dead at almost the top of the list. His memories hadn't given her any clue of this. Or had they?

That night when Northstar was sleeping, after conferring with Bishop, she had silently entered his room and tranquilized him. Then, after a very short surgery, healed with the aid of a mutant, she left Jean-Paul alone again, tiny tracking device in his shoulder. She wanted to know how often he was going back to Canada.

The next day, Jean-Paul took another flight. Straight to the asylum. He returned the day after, missing the next two as he resumed training. He started going at night. Nearly every night. Sage was concerned and in a meeting with Bishop, expressed this. "Lucas, he's going every single night. Not missing one. That's consistent with compulsive behaviour, addiction and any number of other things that disqualify him for working with the MU. We need to know what's going on." Sage had not told Bishop who she found in the patient list at the asylum.

_Montreal,_

_Canada,_

With Bishop's assistance, Sage had Telford Porter drop her off in Montreal and managed to conceal herself near the woman's room in the asylum. Jean-Paul arrived shortly after. Sage used her telepathy to keep herself unseen by the orderlies and patients in the asylum, ghosting along the corridors in the half-light. She found the door she had been searching for and crept in. The woman known as Jeanne-Marie Martin sat on the floor, deep in prayer. Taking the room in at a glance, Sage began to analyze. The room was stark but not confining, a large window covered half the wall. Reinforced plastic rather than glass but a window without bars nonetheless. The walls were bare, spartan, and the only furniture other than a cot and a toilet was a small setting in the corner to which the woman had been praying. A statue, enormous, nearly two meters tall, Christ on the Cross, naked heart exposed and blood from the crown of thorns dripping down the face. Looking at it, Sage felt a chill. Such a gruesome piece dominated the setting, yet statues of the Virgin mother, red heart exposed staring solemnly yet benevolently from beside her dying son, smaller than the horrific figure, a symbolist's nightmare. But she wasn't here to try and fix the woman's problems. She was here to find out what was wrong with Northstar.

Some time later, Sage was wondering if he was going to do anything other than float outside the window a hundred meters away and watch. The woman had not moved her head from her prayer. Probing towards Northstar's mind with her telepathy, Sage nearly gasped aloud. Psychic _shrieks _of abuse, words and raw emotion were filling the air, flying from the woman to Northstar. A bond. Psi-link. Sage frowned. _Why would he have a link with someone who hates him this much?_ Paying closer attention to the abuse, Sage detected a trend. _MONSTER! FIEND! DEVIL! ABOMINATION! _Wincing faintly, Sage blocked out the vicious abuse, the waves of raw hatred and hurt rolling of the woman directly at Northstar. She hadn't detected any of this in her healing. Northstar floated outside the window, tears trickling down his cheeks. Enduring the abuse. He did not once try to speak to the woman. Eventually, he left, returning to the Headquarters. After a few moments to observe the woman, Sage returned to Montreal and summoned Vanisher.

The next night, she once again secreted herself in Jeanne-Marie's room and observed the terrible silent insults directed from the woman to the man floating outside. Sage endured as long as Northstar before gratefully retreating again after his departure. One more night would establish a creditable pattern to speak to Jean-Paul with. The next night.

On Wednesday, Sage once again placed herself in the room, the terrifying statue of Christ brooding down at her menacingly. Expecting to find Jeanne-Marie in prayer as was her custom, Sage was surprised to find the woman pacing the room at a superhuman speed. She also had the mutation. Northstar appeared at his customary time and Sage began to probe with her telepathy, feeling the bond between the two. The insults and hatred weren't present immediately tonight. Sage was worried. This was not in the pattern. She felt the woman's thought. Jean-Paul A greeting. The man outside did not reply. Jean-Paul! the woman inside shrieked mentally. JEAN-PAUL!" screeching furiously, the woman began to sob brokenly, her physical body almost completely at odds with the mental projects flying to the man outside. He floated, face frozen. Please Jean-Paul, the mental voice changing tone. Please, you have to get me out of here you have to get me out havetogetmeouthavetogetmeout! The frantic pleading made Northstar's face twist but he made no move towards her. Jeanne-Marie collapsed on the floor, weeping brokenly. The mental silence was ominous but no sound came from the woman on the floor except breathing. No thoughts flew to wound the man outside. He retreated at his customary time and Sage left as well. This was very troubling.

The next night was a repetition of the first two, the woman not moving from prayer all night and the vicious thoughts, the waves of hatred rolling off without pause. Jean-Paul arrived and departed at his customary times. Sage watched on.

On Friday, Sage arrived and found the woman sitting motionless on the bed. No sign of the previous two types of nights. Jean-Paul arrived shortly after and the woman slammed into the reinforced window, a blur of motion so fast that Sage couldn't follow it until the impact slowed her. Viciously scratching and kicking the plastic as superhuman speeds, the woman attacked until her hands and feet were bloody. Jean-Paul floated outside, weeping. He left at his customary time. Sage stayed to watch as the orderlies arrived and cleaned up the woman's arms.

A week later, no more than the original three reactions to Jean-Paul occurred. Sage decided that a confrontation with Jean-Paul was in order. When she summoned Vanisher for her ride back the Headquarters, she wondered what other shocking revelations that would unearth.

_The Next Afternoon_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters_

Sage knocked on Jean-Paul's door and entered without waiting. Once again he was half way out the window. This time, however, she wasn't letting him go. Reaching out, she snagged a foot as it lifted off and with a yelp, Jean-Paul slid back into his room to land on the floor. "Sage!" he snapped. "What the hell are you doing?" Ignoring him for the moment, she slammed the window shut and seated herself in the room's only chair. Composing herself, she said, "You aren't going to Montreal tonight." Jean-Paul's mouth shut with a _click_. "Telepath. I should've known," he said bitterly. Flopping down in the other chair, he sat staring furiously at the floor. Minutes ticked by. Sage waited patiently. "Fine!" Jean-Paul snapped suddenly. "What do you want, Sage?" Looking up from her hand where she had been studying her nails, Sage said, "Why do you keep going back to her?" Shaking his head, Jean-Paul barked a harsh laugh. "You really do know everything," he said, resigned. "Or do you? Why do you think I keep going back to my sister?" Studying him, Sage replied carefully. "You're looking for something. Something I, Blink, you can't provide yourself, so you go searching. You're hoping she might give it to you." The strength seemed to flow out of Jean-Paul, his anger fading away. "Tell me about her," Sage pressed, following the advantage. "Fine, " snapped Jean-Paul. Turning to face the window, he looked…sad. "My sister's name is Jeanne-Marie Martin. She is my twin and she suffers from dissociative disorder. Severe. She was adopted out through the welfare system after…things happened between me and my parents. The first and second times. We were fourteen. You know what I'm talking about." Sage nodded, the grim memories flashing through her head with a wash of pain. _"But we raised you properly_!_ How could you be…like that?"_ Shaking his head faintly, Jean-Paul continued. "I was adopted out too but that hardly mattered. Jeanne-Marie was a shy girl, very religious. When we manifested, she did not take it well." Sensitizing herself with her telepathy, not probing but feeling the general feeling Jean-Paul was giving out, his vibes as she'd heard a child say once, she found pain. So much pain surrounded the man. "She flipped out. Completely. But I didn't know at first, our adoptive parents had no control. We went where we want, when we wanted. It didn't matter. This was before I got into drugs, when clubs and sex were new to me. We went out, wild and reckless. We have a psi-link, a connection. It made everything we did together more intense. Nothing bizarre,you understand, not any more than any other mutants, but we pulled a few stunts. But then one night, it backfired. We were out, I wasn't paying attention to the link. I realised I couldn't see Jeanne-Marie. Not anywhere. I reached out and found.… Out the back of the club. He'd spiked her drink. She…she was hurt badly. I took her to hospital. But she was broken on the inside as well now. It really came out. Jeanne-Marie came back. I'm not explaining this very well. Jeanne-Marie was the quiet religious girl. When she manifested, she just snapped. Mutants were an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. She couldn't be one, she went to church every Sunday, said her prayers every night, all the things a good Christian is supposed to do. How could she be an _abomination_?" His voice harshened noticeably on the last word. Sage had another flash: "_ABOMINATION!" the psi-link shrieked, on the first night she'd spied on the twins_. Jean-Paul spoke again. "After what happened, Jeanne-Marie came back. She pushed Aurora right down, suppressed her as much as she could. Aurora was her nickname. Claimed she was going to light up the north. But Jeanne-Marie put them in a covenant, hiding them away from the world. Then, in the covenant, Aurora cracked. Aurora had come about to dissociate Jeanne-Marie from her mutancy. The third one, we never really named her, she came about to dissociate Aurora from Jeanne-Marie's life as a nun. What she saw as the boredom. She was vicious, cruel. Jeanne-Marie had always been sharp but Aurora hadn't been anything like the third one. They were as different as Jeanne-Marie and Aurora. Eventually, the third one went insane, locked in Jeanne-Marie in the nunnery, stuck with Aurora raving about how boring it was. She went…vicious. She broke out, hijacking the body almost, and did a little damage. No-one dead but…can you imagine what I could do to a nunnery? Aurora isn't as fast as I am but it hardly matters. She was caught when Jeanne-Marie got the body back and turned herself in. She got herself that nice room in the asylum and that _pretty_ statue of Christ to keep her company and she sits and prays her life away. Aurora is cracking, the nunnery and the asylum, it's too much for her. She's going to die and then it will just be Jeanne-Marie and the psycho. The psycho likes it in there. She gets the body more often because Aurora never wants it. She's getting more control. I don't know why I keep going back. I just watch. I can't help it. Every night, one of them greets me, in her own way. Every single night, I nearly break down because I'm helpless." His voice caught with a catch and he began speaking rapidly, so Sage could hardly understand him. "I couldn't help her that first night in the club, I couldn't help her balance Aurora and Jeanne-Marie, I couldn't help with Daredevil, I couldn't help her with the third, I couldn't help her with the nuns. I can never help. I'm always letting her down." Tears were trickling down his cheeks now. Sage studied him, comparing data. "Jean-Paul before you joined the MU, how long had it been since you had seen your sister?" Shaking a little but much more in control, Jean-Paul replied "A...a long time. A lot of things happened to me and I just…repressed. Since you know about her already, I assume you've seen her reactions to my presence. So when I suppressed the psi-link, she was overjoyed. It hurt. A lot. But when she joined in, actively suppressing as well, it affected our memories I think. I just…shunted it off to the side with all the other stuff I didn't need to rehash. Then, with that telepath…." He trailed off. Sage nodded. It made sense. Stirring through repressed memories was bound to bring up something. Reviewing the data from this interview quickly, she noticed something. "Jean-Paul are you aware you said you couldn't help your sister with Daredevil?" Looking up at her sharply, he replied, "My sister never met Daredevil. I never said that." Sage opened her mouth but Jean-Paul's voice emerged. " 'I couldn't help her that first night in the club, I couldn't help her balance Aurora and Jeanne-Marie, I couldn't help with Daredevil,'" she said, masculine voice disturbing coming from the female body. Jean-Paul flinched at the repetition. Sage continued in her own tones, "You clearly, although possibly subconsciously, latched on to Maria Callasantos as a substitute for your own sister, with all the protection you could provide for another girl who had more than one voice in her head. You failed. She's not going to get better. So what are you looking for? Another crazy girl? Blink? Good luck. She may be suffering from significant trauma but she's not crazy. She could probably take care of you. So if you're not looking for another…object, what your looking for is something more intangible." Jean-Paul leaned forward, face twisting. "Absolution." The word snapped out like a whip. "Middle English, from Old French, from Latin. From _absolutus_. Past participle of _absolvere_. The gift from religion to the people, forgiveness for their sins. Christ dying on the cross, the ultimate absolver. Why do you seek absolution, Jean-Paul? What sin have you committed?"

Jean-Paul Beaubier stared at her. She'd been through his darkest memories, all the pains of his life and she asked him what sin he'd committed? Was she insane? "What the hell do you mean? You know what I've done! I've killed people, I've failed to honour my mother and father and so on and you ask me what sin?" He stared at her as she slowly replied, "Perhaps I should phrase it more directly. What have you done wrong that you think your sister can forgive you for?" His mind whirled. Jeanne-Marie growing up together, their manifestation and the different reactions to it. His by far the more brutal. Almost identical in a way, her reaction manifested through the fragmenting of her mind, his in a desperate attempt to ruin his body. Both seeking to escape their mutations. Flash to the club _Where are you_,_ Aurora? _The horrible feeling when he beat the man who'd done that to her to death. The similar feeling, suppressed though the memories were when he beat Daredevil, punishing him for another little girl. What was he looking for absolution _for?_ He realised that even unconsciously, he didn't know. That knowledge made him as sad as anything that had ever happened to him.

Sage watched Jean-Paul Beaubier realise something. What it was, she didn't know and she knew that she might never. But as long as he knew, it would be ok. "I think I can tell Bishop you're fit to command your squad now," she said softly. Standing quietly, she walked to the door, leaving and closing it behind her with a click.

Jean-Paul sat alone in his room and looked out the window. He wouldn't go to Montreal today, probably not again for a few days but he knew he wouldn't stay away. He had to find what he was seeking to absolve. Not out in the world, not from his sister but from himself.

_Epilogue,_

_Bishop's Office,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Blink, Chamber and Northstar sat in Bishop's office, awaiting his decision about their future. Facing them, Bishop looked pensive. "All of you have come to the Underground from painful circumstances. This does not make you unusual among the misfits that make up our agents, however. In light of recent events, we are putting together a squad to hunt down Domino. There are disturbing similarities…well, never mind. We are putting together a squad and we would like you to lead it, Northstar." Jean-Paul looked resigned. "JP, you know this was coming, you're bright enough to have recognized what happened in England, I got the reports from Shard and the others." Sighing, Jean-Paul nodded. Turning, Bishop looked at Blink and Chamber and said, "I'd like you two to involve yourselves as well. You can't go back to Domino; with the training you've been through, it would be almost impossible for you to live normal lives. You might as well stay." Chamber nodded eagerly but Blink only sighed. "Are you in, Clarice?" Bishop asked and after a moment, Clarice said, "I don't like it. But it's probably for the best." Nodding, Bishop said, "Sage will stay for a few more days and give you some heavy anti-telepath training. We don't want a repeat of what put you in the med wing." Bishop waived them out and the two newest Mutant Underground agents followed their squad leader out of the room.


	11. Where In the World

**11. Where in the world?**

_The Orphanage of the Holy Name_

_Sydney,_

_Australia,_

"We're sure this young lady will be very happy here,." the intimidating woman clothed in the black and white of a nun said sternly. Blink wondered if she could do anything that _wasn't_ stern. Reminding herself she was supposed to look like a sullen, angry teen, she frowned and curled her lip at the sturdy but worn furniture. Beside her, Cecilia said, "Thank you, Sister Constance. However, I need to rush off. If you and Sally could show me out, I'd be very grateful. This building is quite confusing." Sister Constance nodded, beckoning for "Sally" to come with her as she showed the woman the way out. "One of the first buildings built in the country; it was used as a convict dormitory." Cecilia shuddered to herself._ What kind of insane country made their old prisons into orphanages?_ Reaching the front door, Sister Constance stopped and said, "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Baker. I'm sure Sally will be very happy here." Opening the door, Cecilia gave Blink a brief hug of goodbye before walking down the steps to her car. Sister Constance and Blink watched as she climbed in and drove off. Turning back to Blink, Sister Constance said sharply, "Sally, we'll have none of your slacking here. I've been informed that you were removed from foster homes for reasons other than your mutancy and we will have no nonsense while you stay here. Understood?" Blink nodded, not having to feign sullenness this time. Nodding to herself, Sister Constance led the way back into the building. Blink followed, hoping this was worth it; otherwise she was going to kill JP.

Turning the corner a few hundred meters down the road, Cecilia pulled into the park where Jean-Paul was waiting. "It all went fine, "'Sally'" has been accepted into the orphanage and she knows to stay awake until she can set up a regular schedule with Monet." Jean-Paul nodded. "God knows Blink didn't have a normal childhood," he said. "She'll probably fit in just fine in a mutant orphanage gone sour." Standing up, he followed Cecilia back to her car and they drove off.

_The Orphanage of the Holy Name,_

_Sydney,_

Blink listened with half an ear as the woman lectured her about showing respect for the other students and lights out are at this time and you can only go out on these days and so on and so forth. Interrupting Sister Constance's flow of instructions, she asked, "Do I get any privileges because I'm 16?" The woman's frown deepened when she was interrupted but she answered in the same flat tone of voice. "No." Continuing down the hall, she bustled Blink into a tiny room (by herself until a roommate arrived, Blink was told) and shut the door firmly, admonishing her to remember dinner in half an hour. Dumping the small bag she had brought, Blink looked around and then sat down. She had half an hour to kill.

_Twenty Minutes Later,_

Blink sat up with a start. She'd been dozing. Suddenly, a voice sounded in her head. Blink? You online? Monet asked. Pushing a surly thought to the front of her mind where Monet would definitely pick it up, Blink climbed off the bed and tried to fix her clothes before giving up. Opening the door, she walked down in the direction she thought the dining hall was, feeling Monet following along in her mind. Turning around a corner, she gasped, running into a woman she recognized instantly and had hoped never to meet again.

_The Archway Hotel,_

_Sydney,_

Monet jumped up, feeling herself being forced from Blink's mind as she teleported frantically. Monet recognized the woman's face from the same place Blink did. The Granbury Estate. Jean-Paul had to get there fast or Blink wouldn't be there to get to. Guys! We have a serious problem!

_The Orphanage of the Holy Name,_

_Sydney,_

Appearing back in her own room, Blink desperately tried to summon enough of an image or something, _anything_ that she could use to get herself out of here. She had to tell the others though so she couldn't just go back to the States. Suddenly, a voice spoke up behind her. "How nice to see you again, Clarice." Whirling around, Blink gasped, "Domino!" The woman herself calmly got up from where she had been leaning against the door and in a blur of motion, knocked Clarice out with a blow to the head. "You really don't know when to stay out of things. A good thing we knew you were coming." Opening the door to admit the woman from the hallway, red hair gleaming faintly in the light, Domino said, "If she's here, Northstar and Chamber at least will be too. Probably all the others. We need to go." The other woman and opened her mouth to reply when one of the walls imploded and Northstar flew into the room, Shard running in behind him. "How sweet," he said bitterly. "All the old team back together. Apart from the hospital cases, that is." He blurred and the red-head flew backwards, a fist slamming into her gut hunching her over, and a knee came up and slammed into her head, bloodying her nose. She dropped against a wall barely conscious. Whirling, Jean-Paul ducked under a volley of gunfire from Domino tearing up the orphanage wall. A blast from Shard knocked her back but she rolled to her feet and returned fire, forcing the other woman to duck.

Monet flew above Chamber and Cecilia speeding along in Cecilia's car. As they approached the building, Monet flew across streets, slamming into the part of the building the explosions were coming from. Cecilia and Chamber skidded to a stop outside the building, Cecilia cursing about cars that drove on the wrong side of the road. They both ran inside and Chamber began to herd children out of the danger zone. Cecilia began literally herding the children, funnelling them through corridors in force fields but suddenly, Sister Constance came running in from a side corridor, pulling a taser out of her getup. Chamber spotted the woman but couldn't get to Cecilia in time and he yelled out mentally, Cecilia! Look out! The Puerto Rican woman spun around and slammed a shield into the woman, knocking her arm back so she jabbed herself with the taser. The nun collapsed, twitching, and Cecilia ignored her, herding children to safety.

Domino had Shard pinned down but Northstar was flying directly towards her when Monet smashed through the roof. The rubble dropped around and Northstar was forced to dodge aside, huge pieces of rubble blocking his path. He ran around but Domino had jumped back from the rubble as well, waving her gun around, searching for signs of Northstar, Shard or Monet. Shard rose up from the back of the room and tried to blast at the woman but a piece of stone hit her in the shoulder and pinned her to the ground. Monet clambered out of the rubble and saw the red-headed woman, who had escaped the cave in and was groggily crawling to her feet. Speeding towards her, ignoring debris and gunfire from Domino, she knew that she had to get the woman out of the fight before she could focus her telepathy. The woman made a vague gesture in Monet's direction, a huge piece of debris flying towards Monet but she just smashed it aside and kept going, slamming the woman once more into a wall with an enormous _crash. _

After dodging around the debris, Jean-Paul flew towards Domino, roaring in anger. The woman saw Monet take out the red-head and her face twisted in fury. Flicking a switch on her wrist, she vanished, leaving Jean-Paul to slam his hands against the walls in fury, seconds too late.

_Twenty Minutes Later,_

Cecilia ran back inside. The Australian Police had the kids under control and once they'd seen the Mutant Underground identification, they backed off, leaving the squad to do their job. Chamber was just inside looking out for anyone who wasn't meant to be there and she passed him with a silent nod. Inside, Jean-Paul was pacing so fast he was almost invisible, wearing a groove in the floor visibly. Monet was in a light trance, keeping the red-headed woman unconscious and Shard and Blink were unconscious. Cecilia walked over to Blink, finding signs of a blow to the head, the girl already twitching. Unless she had a concussion she'd be fine. Shard was more serious, pinned under a hefty piece of rubble. Cecilia put a shield around centimetres from Shard's skin and forced the support beam up and off to the side. She examined the woman's shoulder and found a fracture. Telling her not to move, she walked to Northstar and said, "Jean-Paul, Shard needs…Jean-Paul! Pay attention!" His head whipped around with a snap. "Sorry, Cecilia, what did you say?" Sighing, she replied, "Shard needs a doctor, JP. The local cops are too freaked to keep anything under wraps so we need to get her back to headquarters. That means Blink, preferably." Nodding, Jean-Paul said, "Ok, have Clarice take us back soon." Blink walked over, unsteady but conscious. "JP…I can follow her," she said quietly. Northstar whirled, at her side in an instant. "What?" he demanded. "Tell me, Clarice." The girl steadied herself visibly, still shaky from the blow to the head. "When she 'ported out of here, she left a…a…a 'residue' is the best way to describe it. I can follow that as she 'ports." Jean-Paul's head bounced up and down, nodding almost faster than they could follow. "First thing, get Shard, Monet and the red-head to headquarters, Bishop can get Sage to restrain her. Probably to interrogate as well, I'd answer any question that woman asked me. Then come back and bring Monet if you can so we can follow the residue." Blink nodded and walked over to the three named women, steadying herself visibly again before vanishing. Jean-Paul sighed. "Cecilia, we have to follow her. To catch her, to kill her, she can't just run free. I need to deal with her as much as Blink and Chamber." Cecilia nodded quickly. "I understand, Jean-Paul. We'll go."

_Two Hours Later,_

Blink had 'ported back after having one of the MU healers give her a brief "freshen up", one of the services they often provided for field agents. Monet had come with her, leaving the red-head in Sage's capable hands. Sage had looked so terrifyingly grim after the first probe of the woman's mind that Monet was nervous. Not that she would admit it. But chasing a gun-toting psycho like Domino around the world was preferably to watching Sage interrogate the woman. Jean-Paul was pacing again when they returned. He had been wearing huge holes in the floor all morning from the look of it. Blink and Monet arrived and Northstar was at their side instantly. He began to talk too fast for them to understand. "BlinkitsaboutimeweneedtogonowyouknowthelongerwewaitthefurtherwayshewillgetwehavetogoNOW!" Cecilia and Chamber walked over, Cecilia laughing slightly. "Sorry about that, he's been practically jumping out of his skin since you left," Cecilia said, amused. Blink had ignored Jean-Paul, walking over to where Domino had 'ported out from. "I'm ready," she announced. Jean-Paul, of course, was beside her instantly, the others almost instantly after. Opening a portal, Blink walked through and the others followed.

_Central Train Station_

_Chennai, India,_

_You know, appearing out of a bright pink portal in the middle of a train station isn't the best way to be inconspicuous_, Monet thought to herself, sighing as Jean-Paul vanished, reappearing in the air scanning the crowds. Monet tried to fight through the press along with the ground-bound but gave up when she began having to push people hard enough to hurt. She lifted off as well and joined Jean-Paul scanning the crowd. Suddenly, he vanished with a shout. _Couldn't the man even bother to tell the rest of them where she was?_ Monet though exasperatedly. But then she too spotted the break in the crowd, a trail of people being thrown violently out of Domino's path, more viciously as it progressed. Suddenly, a shot rang out and people began to run and scream. "Monet!" Blink called and when Monet dropped back to float just above her, ignoring the stares, Blink said, "If too many people cross the site, the resonance will fade. If we can't catch her, you and JP have to look after it till I can get there!" Nodding, Monet flew off again, directly towards Domino. Jean-Paul had arrived already but Domino had a hostage, dragging her off to the side. Monet thought frantically, ruling out telepathy and attacking Domino. Just too many people. The crowds below heaved as Blink, Cecilia and Chamber tried to force their way through to the calm patch, centred around Domino. Jean-Paul was shouting at Domino now, demanding she let the hostage go. _Right. Like that was going to work. _Wondering what she could do, Monet watched in horror as Domino slammed into a shop, grabbing something from behind the counter. With a grin, she disappeared in a flash leaving a terrified hostage behind. Jean-Paul was there instantly but the girl's family ran up to her, invading the calm space around where Domino had been standing. Monet dropped down too, hustling them out while Blink, Cecilia and Chamber burst out and ran into the shop. Monet eyed Blink questioningly and she nodded. "It's still good. Let's go before it gets any worse though." With that, the pink girl focused, opened another portal and they ran through.

_The Baixa of Luanda, _

_Angola,_

Where the hell are we now? It's damn hot! Chamber said, flapping his trench coat quickly. They were on the edge of a city, somewhere near an ocean, a good-sized port visible a little way off. Taking to the air, Monet and Jean-Paul caught sight of a jeep speeding toward the port, an obviously pale white woman sitting in the front seat looking back while pointing a gun at the men beside her, driving frantically. Monet took off after them while Jean-Paul dropped to the ground to let the others know, speeding along at a lower altitude, sending furious funnels of dust whipping along behind him as he shot after the car like a bullet. Cecilia grabbed Blink and Chamber. "I've got something I want to try," she said quickly. A second later, three circular discs, made from Cecilia's force field, materialized in front of them. "Climb on," the dark woman said with a grin. Jumping on quickly, Blink and Chamber were startled when the discs lifted off and began to carry the three forward at a good speed. Glancing over at Cecilia, Chamber saw her face twisting in concentration, strain obvious. She was carrying a lot. Clarice, why don't you 'port ahead, I don't think Cecilia can carry too much. Clarice looked over, nodded and vanished. Cecilia glanced at him gratefully as they sped over the landscape, the empty disc disappearing. They sped up, floating meters above the buildings, not hearing the shouts and calls directed from the street.

Jean-Paul had caught up with the jeep after about 30 seconds. Unfortunately, Domino had seen them come and, knowing his common strategies fairly well, had begun to shoot in the right places before he arrived. A desperate halt had been called for and the resulting sonic boom had sent the jeep skidding forward, swerving wildly. He could hear Domino shouting from inside and the local guy screaming and suddenly the driver's door opened, the man sent flying out. Luckily for him, the road was unsealed and the loose rocks had all been thrown away by the sonic boom, so he landed painfully but without serious injury. The jeep's tires screamed as Domino put a foot to the floor, speeding across the last few hundred meters to the port. Jean-Paul glanced back and saw Monet approaching, too slowly. Chamber and Cecilia were far back, but…_wait a minute_,_ were they flying? _Never mind. Glancing around, he saw Blink vanishing as she ported in short jumps to the end of her line of sight. Arriving next to him, she panted slightly. "Can't…do…this...too…much" she gasped. "Its…hard...to…copy…Domino's…portals…so…I…have…to…" but Northstar was nodding, impatient. He took off quickly, catching up with the jeep as it swerved into the parking lot of an important looking building. Domino jumped out, guns blazing and ran inside, slamming something against the door. He began to slam against it as Blink and Monet caught up, Cecilia and Chamber floating down to join them. Suddenly, Blink cocked her head and said, "She's gone."

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Sage sat in the chair facing the bound prisoner, the inhibitor collar looking painfully bulky against her neck. She simply stared at the woman knowing about her what she now knew. No wonder the damage to Jean-Paul and the others had been so extensive. This woman's mind had power on a scale that she very rarely encountered. She doubted that there were more than three telepaths on the planet who could even last a moment in direct confrontation. The most serious problem was, she'd had training from two of these people. Staring expressionlessly, Jean Grey watched the woman who had been assigned to her interrogation in. If she tried a probe, she was in for a very serious surprise.

_Havana Port,_

_Cuba,_

"Blinking" in to another port, this one much less dry, Northstar wasted no time, in the air and after Domino who was running on foot a few hundred meters away. Unfortunately for the others, the Cuban troops who had been summoned to deal with Domino opened fire on the rest of the squad. Monet ignored them, Cecilia shielded herself automatically, Chamber simply blasted them away and Blink 'ported them all out into the ocean. Northstar dodged all shots, continuing after Domino but a volley of machine gun fire hits some old brickwork and it fell in front of Northstar, and he swerved. Domino glances behind herself and laughs out loud. Northstar flies over the rubble as Domino enters a seemingly random house. Blink 'ports past the rubble and Northstar slams into the door at an inhuman speed, sending the fragile timber flying into the house. Blink doesn't even need Northstar's roar of frustration to tell her that Domino had gotten away again.

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Jean Grey looked up at Sage through sweatstained hair. Staring back expressionlessly, Sage's mind nonetheless was processing information as fast as she could. The woman strapped to the chair had been very certain she wouldn't be giving anything away. She almost hadn't. But Sage had managed to crack her and now it was only a matter of time before the woman told everything she knew. But time was short, Jean-Paul's squad was chasing Domino directly towards something very, very dangerous. If she didn't find out more…. "Now, Jean, let's talk about your mentor." Sage began. She never enjoyed doing this but what must be done, must be done.

_Greenwich, Connecticut,_

_The United States,_

Panting faintly, Domino sped along the roads, through the broad canopy of trees arching overhead. Checking the mirrors for any sign of the damn Underground, she nearly missed her turn, spinning the wheel of the car sharply to swerve into a long driveway. In the corner of her mirror, she saw the small pink flash of their arrival but she was almost there. Skidding to a halt outside the palatial old house, she slammed the door open and ran inside. Sprinting up a flight of stairs, she entered a darkened room, slamming the door behind her. "Master," she said. "I've got some bad news about Jean." The figure in the chair, facing the fireplace that provided the only illumination, replied, "I already know, my pet. Everything is well." Domino swallowed, her mouth dry. "Master, the Underground may have followed me. They are in Greenwich at least." She waited for the reaction. "All is well for now, my pet. I've taken care of Jean. As for the Underground, I want you to go downstairs to the training room. There are a few young people waiting to meet you. You are to attack the Underground through any means necessary, using all assets available." Domino nodded, relieved that she wasn't to be punished. "Domino," the voice began and she froze. "Domino, if you fail at this, you don't want to come back alive. Jean is taken care of but she was in Sage's hands for some time and that delightful woman got a good bit of information from her. She knows about you. She knows about me. So you definitely don't want to fail me now. So use every available asset." Nodding, Domino left the room, closing the door softly. Heading down to the training room, Domino knew that she wouldn't like what was to happen. But she had her loyalty. She would do what she had to do.


	12. Hound and Hare

**12. Hound and Hare**

_Interrogation Chambers,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

Sweat glinted in the dim light of the chamber. Jean Grey's hair was soaked in it, clinging damply to her skull. The woman beside her was spotless, not sweating a drop. Sage studied Jean expressionlessly, watching as the woman panted. "Tell me about how you met Domino, Jean," Sage asked, almost politely. Jean shivered, opening her mouth angrily to speak but closing it again at a look from Sage. Quietly, she began, "I found Domino living under the name of Neena Thurman…" As she continued, Sage's brain analyzed information as fast as she could. The woman had broken under the interrogation. Just. Now, all she had to do was ask the right questions.

_Greenwich, Connecticut,_

_The United States,_

Jean-Paul sped down the rows and rows of streets, feeling the trees that arched over the road behind him curve down and inwards, bending to fill the gap he left. Backtracking, he returned to the others. "Nothing," he spat. Blink sighed and Cecilia shook her head. Neither Chamber or Monet reacted, the latter not stirring from where she sat with her legs crossed. With a nod of his head towards the motionless woman, Jean-Paul asked, "She hasn't had any luck either?" but Blink said, "Nothing. She hasn't teleported from anywhere close by, I'd have felt that. She's still here." Staring around at the innocuous-looking suburb, Jean-Paul whispered to himself, "We'll find you, Domino, and when we do, I'm going to kill you."

_Interrogation Chambers,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

"Now, Jean," Sage said, "tell me about your training." Jean glanced at her, no more than a flickering of her pupils, but Sage caught it. Licking her lips, Jean began, "I was found by Professor Xavier some time after my friend Annie…" but Sage cut her off. "Not that training, Jean." The woman's eyes flicked towards her, then around the room again. "I want to know when _he_ found you." The woman began to try and pull herself out of the chair but the ropes around her arms and ankles held her there. She began to throw herself against the bonds, yelling, "I don't know what you mean!" Sage stared at her for a moment before advancing on Jean. It seemed that she hadn't broken after all. More pressure would be required.

_Greenwich, Connecticut,_

_The United States,_

Monet straightened with a gasp, eyes popping open. "I think I've found her," she said and Jean-Paul was at her side. "Where?" he snapped urgently but Monet massaged her temples a moment before answering. "There's an estate, just round the corner from here. Its covered by the most subtle piece of shielding I've ever seen. It would need as much power to do this as it would to…" she trailed off, looking at Chamber. The boy just stared back at her, not speaking. He had barely spoken since he and Blink had been brought back. Monet shivered slightly and continued, "It sends a mind trying to probe the area off to the side. I only caught it because the auto suggestion couldn't get through my double shields. I can't tell you what's under there but Domino isn't anywhere in the area. I'm almost certain.," she finished. Jean-Paul looked at her for just a moment, before taking to the air, shouting, "Come on! We can't let her get away!"

_Interrogation Chambers,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

It had taken a good deal of extra pressure but Jean had finally cracked. She was starting to talk. Spilling out secrets, how _he'd_ found her months before Xavier. Her initial training, creating the secret place deep in her mind that Xavier would never see. The planning. The scheming. The break from the X-men. Everything. Sage was very deeply disturbed. She was also missing something, she knew it. But she didn't know the questions to ask. "Why form the Crew?" she asked. Jean replied slowly. "He wants people. It's a training ground. Domino's been doing it for years, where do you think my agents come from?" She let out a vicious, dry laugh. "You didn't think your little killings were going to get his agents, did you?" Sage looked at her in horror. She demanded, "How do you ensure loyalty? You put these people in a situation that creates intense bonds, how do you make sure they won't turn on you when they find out that you've been setting them up?" The woman tied to the chair rasped another laugh. "Domino is bonded to him. Domino is loyal and she will be loyal until she dies." Sage fixed her with a hard stare, knowing there was more, waiting for her to continue. Jean whimpered at the look and said, "We use a mole. One who's been bonded, one who will stay loyal. It's done as soon as the group is assembled, the turning." Sage felt the blood drain from her face, staring in horror. "Who?" she demanded instantly. "Who is it?"

_Greenwich, Connecticut,_

_The United States_

Chamber watched the road fly by underneath him. He glanced up a moment at Monet, carrying him by his shoulders as they flew along the road. Looking beside, Cecilia was floating along on her disc while Jean-Paul was carrying Blink. He looked back, focusing on the estate they were headed for. He felt something inside him stir as they approached where Domino hid, at last in a position to get his revenge. What she had done to him….Inside himself, Jono felt something stir, something he hadn't felt since they had been chasing the Kingpin. When he found Domino, she was going to envy Leander Natchios and all the others.

_Interrogation Chambers,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters_

Sage jumped to her feet. Jean was refusing to answer. But there was something wrong with her this time. It wasn't the same laughter as before. Striding as close to the woman as she could get, Sage gasped out loud. The inhibitor collar was trickling off her neck, the metal and components melted. Her eyes, previously cloudy from pain, had cleared. But they weren't green anymore, they were red. Sage threw herself backwards desperately, landing on the table as Jean's hands whipped up towards where her neck had been, charred fragments of the shackles dropping to the ground. Sage rolled, flipping her legs back up as the manacles restraining her legs fell apart, filling the room with the smell of singed metal. Eyes dripping red, Jean Grey laughed as fire filled the room and she spoke with a voice that wasn't her own. "Hello, my pet."

_Greenwich, Connecticut,_

_The United States_

Monet slammed through the side of the mansion, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. Jean-Paul was through after her, Blink, Chamber and Cecilia following carefully. Splitting up to search the mansion, they didn't notice the figure who walked past them laughing. Sending a brief telepathic message to Domino, the figure slipped out of the mansion, taking a car from the garage. He hid himself from the sight of the Underground agents. Laughing slightly, the figure sped off, most of his mind focused on one room in the bowels of the Mutant Underground headquarters.

_Interrogation Chambers,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters_

Sage stared at the woman, recognizing the masculine voice that sprung from her lips instantly. "You," she said coldly. "I shouldn't be surprised that you pulled something like this." Jean's face twisted into a rictus bearing a faint resemblance of a smile. "Sage, Sage, Sage," the woman's body said, tone almost paternal. "Did you ever really threaten me? Did you even really threaten my dear proxy here? Whose agents have you been killing for the past few years Sage? Mine or hers? Only I know." Sage spat at Jean's body, now surrounded by a pool of fire, eyes dripping with blood. The spittle evaporated before it even got close. Shaking the body's head, the voice said, "One thing I learnt from having access to this dear woman from such a young age was her enormous potential. Of course, I took steps to make sure she didn't realize she surpassed me in some areas but now…well, now it's time to see if she can live up to her potential. I'm just going to leave a parting gift, but what do you think of the idea of having an idiot in possession of near telekinetic godhood and an overwhelming urge to destroy things?" The grin sharpened, showing teeth now. "It has been a pleasure, Sage. If we happen to meet again…well, I doubt that will happen. Ta-ta." With that, Jean's body went rigid for just a moment as her personality and memory were wiped out cleanly. She lifted off the ground, however, and the flames grew hotter moments later as the blocks on her power were removed. With a shriek that shook the building, the fiery woman exploded, consuming the room in a huge burst of flame.

_Bishop's Office,_

_Mutant Underground Headquarters,_

"Commissioner…." His secretary buzzed Bishop, his voice trailing off unusually. "Yes, Janet?" Bishop asked "Have you found out what that was?" he said, referring to the shriek that had flown through the building moments before. The woman on the intercom was silent for a moment before replying, "You need to come down to interrogation Commissioner. Quickly. There's been a terrible accident."

_Ruins of the Interrogation Chambers_

Bishop surveyed the wreckage, face expressionless. Clever as the woman was, it was almost certain that Sage had been killed in this blast. Almost. Bishop held out some hope that she'd be pulled out, that was why he had people searching. Suddenly a shout rose. Bishop sprinted over to where one of the agents was pulling back stones around a body. The stench of burnt flesh was almost unbearable. "Sage…." Bishop said softly and, unbelievably, the woman's pupils rolled around. There was a muscle contraction around her face and Bishop realised that she was trying to blink. Her eyelids had been burnt off. Reaching out with a hand, the woman touched Bishop's temple, forcing his mental barriers aside with her last remaining strength to tell him something. Images without words flashed through his head, everything Jean had told Sage, the encounter with _him._ Jean dying in her own explosion, filled with a terrible need to destroy but her mind wiped of the information that would have saved her from her own powers. With the last thought before collapsing, Sage sent the image of the woman and the words There's a mole in the squad before dropping back. The healer her rescuer had been shouting for had arrived, elbowing Bishop aside to go to work. With a horrible sinking feeling, Bishop shouted, "Get me a contact with Jean-Paul's people!"

_The Mansion_

_Greenwich, Connecticut, _

Jean-Paul felt the communicator in his ear buzz faintly. Thumbing the switch, he said, "Talk fast." Bishop's voice rang through. "Jean-Paul, there's been an incident. Sage is likely to die but before she passed out, she told me there's zzzzzzlllzzlzlzzzz….." Jean-Paul frowned. "Bishop?" he asked but got no response. Looking up suddenly, he spotted the boy standing at the top of the stairs. The boy was watching him, visibly concentrating. The radio gave off a single spark, stinging Jean-Paul's ear before dying. Before Jean-Paul could react, Blink was behind the boy, slamming an elbow onto the back of his neck, knocking him out. Jean-Paul was there a moment later, then Monet. "He took out our communications," Jean-Paul said coldly. "We're cut off." "Who…" Monet began but her voice trailed off as she glanced down the corridor, spotting another teenage boy. Glancing in the other direction, she saw another teenager, a blond girl standing at the other end. In silent co-ordination, the two assumed a fighting stance, the boy vanishing inside a whirling tornado, the girl manifesting a horde of yellow sparkling energy balls.

Jean-Paul darted instantly toward the boy who, moving inside the tornado as he was, still seemed to be moving at the speed of a normal person. Trying to slam blows through the window was proving extremely difficult, the boy popping out bone spikes that were whirled down the hallway, one shattering harmlessly on Monet's body armour, the rest hitting the wall or floor. Finally, Jean-Paul managed to strike a blow to the boy's head and he went down, sliding over his centre of balance to slip down the stairs. Jean-Paul caught his foot before he slid down too far, flipping him to the landing halfway down.

Monet and Blink had thrown themselves at the blond girl but she had launched her little field of glowing energy balls at them. As they approached, Blink opened a portal in front of herself to get rid of them but the girl snapped her fingers, detonating them before they hit. Throwing a single, much larger ball of energy between the two agents, the explosion slammed Blink into the wall knocking her dazed to the ground, and Monet over the banister where she caught herself with her powers, flying back up and pouncing on the girl. The blond set off a few more little bombs but Monet ignored them, rendering the girl unconscious with a quick blow.

Downstairs, Cecilia and Chamber were hurrying towards the fight when only chance saved them from a human cannonball which slammed into the enormous stairs, cutting off their access to the upper level with the destruction. Jumping up from the wreckage, a Native American man threw himself directly at Chamber, only to have to duck under a searing blast. Rolling aside, the man threw himself at Cecilia who threw him back with a force field. Advancing on him, she shaped a force field like a club, slamming the man in the head with enough force to knock someone unconscious. He grunted. Then he smashed his hand directly into the force field and Cecilia felt it almost buckle under the pressure. She grunted in surprise. The man smiled and threw himself forward again.

Jean-Paul saw Cecilia struggling with the man below and he took a swan dive off the railing, aiming to help. Monet threw herself towards the two moments later. Neither noticed the two teenagers groggily getting to their feet. Neither made a sound as the blond girl joined the boy on the landing. Blink still lay on the ground.

Cecilia was struggling with the Indian man, slamming him with clubs of force, harder and harder. He was starting to show injury now and as Monet arrived, the two began to exchange incredibly powerful blows. Jean-Paul and Cecilia could only watch as the two fought, forsaking the ground to take their combat to the air.

Suddenly, acting on instinct, Cecilia spun and shielded the entire side of the room, bullets _pinging_ from the other side. Domino had a gun to Chamber's neck with one hand, firing with the other, and was whispering some words in his ear, cut off by the sound.

Chamber saw Cecilia attack the Indian man for the first time, and moved to follow her before the gun barrel pressed against the base of his skull stopped him. "Stop." Domino's cold voice warned him. "She turns and you die." She dragged him back from the combat for a moment, before seeing that Cecilia and Monet between them had almost beaten the man. Cursing softly, she released Chamber except for the gun barrel behind his skull and began firing, thwarted by Cecilia. "You know," she said conversationally, "Cecilia once told me that when you blasted her shields, it hurt immensely. I don't suppose you'd do that for me now?" Drop dead, Chamber sent angrily. I'm going to kill you, he finished, throwing himself into her mind. Domino however had some powerful shields and he had to work at these, which the woman herself could feel.

Jean-Paul and Cecilia could only watch as Chamber's chest grew brighter and both his and Domino's bodies locked rigid. The two didn't notice Blink climbing to her feet silently up on the banisters and watching the two younger mutants meet on the landing.

_Inside Domino's mind, _

Inside Domino's head, Chamber found a horrific surrealist maze, Domino's shields making everything resemble one of those absurdly complicated drawings with the stairs that come out of the wall and lead into the roof. Pushing through, he could feel Domino fighting back as the walls grew bigger and stronger, the stairs and paths more convoluted. Finally, Chamber, fed up with wandering around, blasted through a door. He came face to face with Domino, inside her own head. She looked at him from the desk at which she'd been sitting, two figures beside her. One was old and shadowed, the other young. Light from an unknown source glinted off her read hair. Jean Grey and Domino both looked up and said six words. "He owns you. We own you."

_Back in reality,_

Cecilia and Jean-Paul could only watch as Chamber and Domino struggled; suddenly, Blink shouted a warning from the stairs. Jean-Paul spun in time to see a large glowing ball of energy falling towards them followed by the tornado of the boy. Blink was on the balcony, mouth still moving to form the words of warning. Pushing Cecilia aside, he took off from the ground, speeding up and over the bomb towards the tornado. Suddenly, behind them, half the room was annihilated in white.

Jean-Paul lifted himself over the two children's attacks, spinning in mid air at the sound of the massive explosion behind him, yet he felt no shockwave. An enormous ball of fire floated against a crimson barrier. He had pushed Cecilia who had reacted instinctively to the sight of the ball of fire, shielding most of the room from impact. Unfortunately, this blast originated from Chamber and wasn't normal fire. As the psychic feedback from her shield hit Cecilia, she began to scream. She climbed back to her feet, whimpering and occasionally crying out aloud in pain. All activity on her side of the room had ceased, Blink on the landing, Jean-Paul floating above the two teenage mutants, Monet and the Indian breaking off their epic battle, the combatants awed by this demonstration of just how powerful mutants could be. Cecilia stood, facing Chamber through the fire and reduced her shield, wrapping the fireball in a bubble of force, compressing it and shrinking it down. Her face streaked with sweat, the Puerto Rican woman had the enormous ball of fire compressed to no more than a cubic meter. Cecilia however was groaning constantly, clearly in enormous pain. Chamber visibly concentrated and Cecilia wavered and dropped, the ball of fire flying out like it was shot from a slingshot. The two teenagers who had been watching the struggle in fear didn't have time to jump out of the way, the impact making the girl scream and the boy grunt audibly as they were knocked back. The smell of burning hair wafted from the two of them. Seizing the advantage, Monet unleashed a massive blow that knocked the Indian mutant back over to Domino and Chamber, the latter's chest now a fiery pit, his eyes glowing. Domino snapped, "Warpath, get up." The young Indian staggered to his feet again, eyes faintly glazed. He hadn't made a sound for the entire battle. Monet faced Warpath, Blink faced Chamber and Jean-Paul faced Domino. Looking from his haggard team mates to Chamber, chest like a furnace and Domino, alabaster face terrifying in the reflected light from Chamber, he hoped that Bishop realised what had happened and sent help. Lots of it.


	13. Hammer and Anvil

**13. Hammer and Anvil**

_The Mansion_

_Greenwich, Connecticut,_

The two groups faced each other in the wreckage of the once beautiful mansion. Monet and Warpath, having already fought each other almost to a standstill. Blink and Chamber, two people sharing so similar lives. Jean-Paul and Domino. "This is just wonderful," Domino said in a singsong voice. "All the surviving members of my little motley Crew together again." Ignoring her, Jean-Paul turned to Blink and said softly, "Clarice…we can't afford to screw around with her. Don't try and reason with him." Glancing at him, Blink replied, "Get stuffed, Jean-Paul. I'm not going to kill Chamber. I'll figure out something." Before Jean-Paul could respond, Domino had whipped out a gun and begun firing rounds towards the two of them. Monet launched herself at the pale woman but Warpath tackled her on the way over, the two powerhouses slamming into the remains of the staircase, titanic struggle resumed. Blink vanished at the sound of gunfire, reappearing a few meters to the side whilst Jean-Paul dodged the bullets and hurtled towards Domino. Domino snapped a board up from the ground, hurling it solidly towards Jean-Paul, and retreating back into the house. The Canadian hurtled aside, dodging the board and zipping back on course as Domino slipped into another room. Seconds later, he slammed through the door at more than 100 kilometres an hour, not even bothering to open it.

Blink charged towards Chamber, calling out, "Jono! You have to fight them, Jono! You can't let them win! You can't let _her_ win! You have to..." she broke off, vanishing in a flash of pink as the spot she had been standing was annihilated, barely pausing in her pleading, "..you have to fight, Jono!" she begged, dodging desperately around the tens of small balls of fire flying towards her.

Monet and Warpath struggled desperately, two immensely strong mutants. Trading blows that would have destroyed small buildings, the two fought back and forth on the ground at first, then took to the air. Monet caught Warpath a blow on the chin that send him flying directly into the unconscious bodies of two of his compatriots. The teenager didn't even make a sound, lifting off the ground again to slam a kick into Monet's stomach that knocked the air from her lungs. Following up with a knee to her head that sent her spinning backwards, Warpath caught the failing woman by the arm and began to spin. Round and round he spun, Monet unable to reorient herself for battle. Suddenly, he let her loose, the Underground agent flying through two layers of floor before being stopped by the ground, landing in a small crater. Coughing, Monet spat blood out of her mouth. _This isn't working_, she thought to herself. _He's stronger than I am, I've only held him off this long because I'm trained_. Curling into a ball, she felt her chest. _I've broken a rib _shethought, feeling the piercing agony in her chest that told her. I can't fight. Pulling her mind away from her injuries, Monet blocked out all her surroundings, the pain from her injuries, the faint sound of Warpath's feet landing on the cold concrete beside her. She centred herself, reaching inside her own mind to find her telepathic power. Warpath picked her up by her uniform, the straightening of her body sending spears of icy agony through her chest. Taking a shallow, gasping breath, Monet's mind struck out like a snake, shutting down Warpath's brain. There was something stopping her, another telepath was in his mind but she slammed through, not trying to force the telepath out. She was too tired for subtlety. With a last telepathic heave of effort, the man collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. He dropped Monet to the ground and she found that her limbs had gone cold, she could barely move. Breathing was agony. She must have pierced a lung. Settling down, she began to meditate, leaving her body behind and slowing her breathing. She had to do what she could to minimize the damage. She had to hope Blink and Northstar were ok.

Two floors above Monet, Blink was still frantically dodging Chamber's blasts. "Jono, I'm not going to hurt you!" she shouted. "Maybe a little," she muttered to herself, a blast singeing her hair as she rolled under it. Finally, giving up reasoning with him, Blink 'ported to behind and above Chamber, leg sweeping up behind her which should have clipped the back of his head. Unfortunately, she'd used that trick too many times with Chamber and he grabbed her foot as she appeared, slamming her into the ground. Blink hit with a grunt, the air forced from her lungs with the impact. Rolling desperately to the side, she was barely missed by the fireball that blew a hole through the timber floor where she had just been. Not bothering to get up, she 'ported again, back to near where had been originally which was now behind Chamber. As she swept her leg out, he blasted straight down in front of him, lifting him meters into the air and very nearly burning her leg off. Blink stared at him as he landed, chest glowing like a furnace, a sinister light gleaming in his eyes. Suddenly, she realised she'd been overconfident. She'd been promising not to hurt Jono but at that moment, Blink wondered if she could hurt him. He certainly hadn't been promising not to hurt her.

Jean-Paul followed Domino through the door, not bothering to open it. This nearly proved fatal. A table had been placed in front of the gap between the door and the opening of the room; the underside had large spikes driven through it. Examining them closely for a moment, Jean-Paul recognized them as the bone spikes that the teenage guy had been shooting out before. Planting his foot carefully, Jean-Paul kicked the table out of the way just in time to see Domino disappear through another door. A split second later, he kicked that door open too. "Domino!" he roared, furious and hate-filled. Entering the next room, he stared in amazement for nearly ten seconds. _A hall of mirrors. In a mansion. In Connecticut. _Jean-Paul took off, speeding forward and the sonic boom left behind shattered every mirror he passed, hundreds of images of him splitting into thousands, millions as he sped through. Suddenly, he caught a Domino standing in a mirror and, grabbing one of the larger glass shards from the ground, he hurled it directly at the woman. She shattered into a thousand pieces as the glass hit the mirror. The reflection didn't even flinch. Suddenly, she raised her hand and then her middle finger. Northstar screamed a sound of pure rage and sped through the corridors, the mirrors disintegrating behind him. He slammed to a stop in front of the next door, followed by a glistening silver cloud, more cautious. Opening it quickly, he ducked his head through. "Jean-Paul," a voice whispered. He slammed through the door, hoping to grab Domino before she could get away again. "Jean-Paul," Domino's voice chuckles, filled with madness. "I seeeeeeeeeee you, Jean-Paul." Jean-Paul turned his head quickly, searching for Domino, any hint as to where she was. "So, JP, let me ask you something," she continued. "Why is your sister in that loony bin up north?" Jean-Paul froze, threatening, "If you touch her, Domino…." The unseen woman just laughed. "If I touch her you'll what, Jean-Paul? Hmmm? What if I've already 'touched' her, what if she's bleeding to death in her little room now because you were too busy playing hero to protect her? What would you do, Jean-Paul?" she finished with a shout. Jean-Paul turned, a cold expression on his face. _Where was she? _ He thought frantically. _Where the hell was she? _Domino continued, "Why does she hate you so much, Jean-Paul?" she asked, almost friendly, "What did you do to her?" Spinning around again, Jean-Paul searched for a hole in the wall, a speaker, anything that could tell him where she was. "Or was it something you didn't do? C'mon, Jean-Paul, there shouldn't be secrets between friends," she said, just before a gunshot burst out through the wall. Jean-Paul whirled at the sound of the gun, easily avoiding the bullet. He heard footsteps as Domino ran off chuckling. Slamming into the wall, he jammed his hand through the bullet hole and pried open the panels of the wall, entering the slight gap between the falls. Taking a guess based on the sound of her footsteps, Jean-Paul flew down the tunnel as fast as he could.

Sprinting through the tunnels between the walls that honeycombed the mansion, Domino flew along her way, hearing Jean-Paul tear into the tunnel system. Knowing it wouldn't be long enough to get to her planned exit, Domino made a viciously tight turn, heading flat out towards the light. Bursting out through the opening, she saw Monet and Warpath were both down and Blink was facing off with Chamber. No time to think, she vaulted the banister heading for the landing. With a thud, she hit what was left of the halfway point up the stairs, passing over the body of one of her people. _Bedlam_ her mind whispered, which she acknowledged with a nod to herself. Sometimes her mind told her things, told her to do things. But sometimes it told her in a different voice. It didn't matter. Throwing herself off the now creaking landing, Domino landed with a roll, coming up firing directly at Blink.

Blink was still desperately trying to dodge Chamber, barely managing to avoid getting incinerated. Suddenly, there was a crash on the upper floor and Domino vaulted over the railing. Blink turned and had to drop at the last minute, getting a singed back. She heard a brief thud through the ground as Domino landed and 'ported herself out before she even heard the firing start. Landing on her knees a few meters away, Blink panted faintly, still exhausted from the chase around the globe. Breathing hard, she jumped as a blast annihilated one of the few surviving pieces of furniture behind her. More shots rang out, peppering the wall behind her and she vanished again, reappearing behind Domino. Blink's foot lashed out at the woman's head but Domino began to turn at the last second, saving herself from most of the blow. Spinning around, she fired directly at Blink and the bullets hit her in the arm, blood flicking out like black rain in the menacing glow emanating from Chamber. Blink hit the ground, unsuccessfully trying to dodge the bullet, screaming.

Jean-Paul finally found that Domino had split off, long after he should have caught her, and burst onto the scene just in time to see Blink go down in a spray of blood. Moments later, he hit Domino at forty kilometres an hour, slamming the woman into the floor. Jumping over her, he reached for Blink but a brief heat warned him and he dragged Blink off the ground, ignoring her cry and lifting off as fast as she would survive to escape the searing blast that had been fired at them. Dropping Blink off on the second floor, Jean-Paul blurred as he threw himself off after Chamber.

The boy's fire had dimmed a little, the extra strength he'd acquired from somewhere starting to fade. Jean-Paul flew directly at him, suddenly speeding up even faster to appear behind Chamber but the boy wreathed himself in his own fire, surrounding himself in burning psionic flame. Jean-Paul slammed his hands through, shouting with pain as his fist slammed into the side of the turning boy's head, knocking him to the ground. He looked at his arms, covered with painful burns. Was it bad that they didn't hurt?

A voice rang out from the upper floor. "Hold up, amigo!" It was the purple-haired boy whom Jean-Paul had fought before, the blond girl standing where the foot of the stairs had once been. The boy was holding an unconscious Blink, bone dagger to her throat. "You let us go or the girl gets it!" the boy shouted, a Mexican accent thick in his voice. Jean-Paul stared, dazed. He normally would be able to get to the boy and do something incredibly painful with that dagger before he could stab but this kid was fast. He'd seen that before, and Jean-Paul was tired. The blond girl advanced forward confidently, surrounding herself with little yellow energy balls. She grabbed Domino from where she lay on the ground and slapped her face. "Wake up," she said emotionlessly, as Domino began to stir. Dropping the pale woman to the ground, leaving her to recover, she walked towards Jean-Paul. Close enough for him to see the two drops of blood trickling from her eyes through the dust and grime on her cheek. He stared at her in exhausted horror, the two drops one of the most sinister thing's he'd ever seen.

Domino crawled to her feet, the blond girl not reacting. Wiping her mouth, she said, "Meltdown, get Bedlam. Riptide, keep the girl. If our dear, _dear_ friend Jean-Paul moves an inch, kill her." Walking over to the hole where Monet and Warpath had landed, Domino spat out of the corner of her mouth. "Great," she said in disgust. "He's down in the bloody crater. Just perfect." Spinning around, she opened her mouth when a group of figures in black combat armour appeared with a snap. Jean-Paul easily identified Vanisher as their transport, noticing the man at the back disappear after a second. As the corners of Jean-Paul's mouth turned up a modicum in relief, Psylocke stepped forward and said coldly, "Stop. Sit. Stay." Shadowcat whacked Multiple Man on the shoulder a few times, the dupes running over to Cecilia and Chamber's unconscious bodies. Domino shouted, "We have a hostage! We're giving the orders!" Psylocke looked at her and Jean-Paul saw her whisper into her microphone. Rogue and Shadowcat nodded slightly and a moment later, Psylocke spun into action, turning to face Riptide on the second floor. The younger man was slammed back hard against the wall, the sound of his skull bouncing off echoing through the other sounds in the room. Blink immediately dropped to the ground.

As soon as Psylocke had moved, Rogue and Morph had run directly at Meltdown. The blond teenager had been standing near Bedlam's body on the landing and she reacted immediately to the attack on Riptide, hundreds of tiny glowing balls surrounding her hands. She threw them along the ground towards the two agents like marbles but Morph grabbed Rogue's armour encased shoulders, his legs changing and throwing the two of them to the landing. Meltdown was already preparing more bombs but Rogue's hand brushed her check as they flew past and the blond girl convulsed and collapsed.

Shadowcat had run towards Domino when the others had moved. She approached the pale woman who pulled a gun and fired automatically. The bullet passed right through Shadowcat and the woman smiled as she advanced. Growling, "This isn't over, Jean-Paul! It will never be over!" the pale woman grabbed something from a pocket on her side. Recognizing it, Jean-Paul shouted, "No!" and pushed the Multiple Man duplicate aside, wincing as his burned hands screamed in agony. He took off, pushing himself as fast as he could but Domino blew him a kiss and flicked the switch on the teleporter. With a barely audible sound, she vanished. Jean-Paul roared in frustration, spinning around desperately needing to punch something. He saw Riptide had vanished from the wall where Psylocke had left him pinned, Meltdown and Bedlam from the landing. With a sinking stomach, he spun to see one of the Multiple Man duplicates turn from the hole and hold up one finger. Jean-Paul nearly collapsed. He dropped to his knees, surrounded by the destroyed house and his injured squad. Barely moving his head, he automatically sought his team. Monet was in the crater, Blink on the balcony. Cecilia and Chamber…wait, Chamber? He whirled and spotted one of the duplicates tending to both the unconscious people. His feeling of defeat returned as Jean-Paul realized that Chamber being there might create even more trouble than it originally seemed. He dropped from his knees onto his back and lay for a moment staring at what was left of the ceiling. "Jean-Paul?" Betsy's voice asked quietly. "She's gone," he said emotionlessly. "Without Blink we can't track her." His voice was flat, exhausted. "You need to get your arms tended to, Jean-Paul. Come over here with Chamber and Cecilia," Psylocke said gently. Jean-Paul tried to sit up, managing to lift his shoulders off the ground before dropping back. "Betsy…." He started but trailed off, eyes glazing over. "Have to tell you…." Reaching down, she gently took his temples between her thumbs, Jean-Paul sighing at the cool pressure of her digits. He did his best to drop all barriers in his mind, opening himself as much as possible. Psylocke gasped as his battle with Chamber flashed through her mind, her hands dropping down to brush his burnt arms. "Multiple!" she shouted. "Full restraints for Chamber, inhibitor collar, the works." The nearest duplicate opened its mouth but she snapped, "Don't argue, just do it." Turning, she reached down and grabbed her radio. "Psylocke to base," she snapped out angrily. "Things were unpleasant. We have a very serious problem."


End file.
